


RWBY Retold: Volume 1

by Venderppie



Series: RWBY: Retold [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Blake Belladonna, Blake Belladonna - Freeform, Bumblebee - Freeform, Gen, Mercury - Freeform, Nora Valkyrie - Freeform, RWBY - Freeform, Renora, Rewrite, Rooster Teeth - Freeform, Ruby Rose - Freeform, Weiss Schnee - Freeform, arkos, emerald - Freeform, jaune arc - Freeform, lie ren - Freeform, pyrrha nikos - Freeform, yang xiaolong - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Venderppie/pseuds/Venderppie
Summary: I love RWBY, but I can't overlook one of its biggest problems; it's writing. While there are some great moments, it's evident that the showrunners prioritized the fights over everything. Which lead to some great battles and some not so great stories (cof cof White Fang cof cof). So I decided to rewrite RWBY to make it a better-written story. I hope you all enjoy it!
Series: RWBY: Retold [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2158755





	RWBY Retold: Volume 1

"Fairytales are often the first stories we hear as a child. Strong heroes protecting the weak and defeating the monsters! But in the world of Remnant, those fairytales are not the work of fiction. For in this world, lurking in the dark, there are creatures know as Grimm.

Silver eyed monstrosities attracted by dark emotions and the most significant cause of death in Remnant. There are very few people who don't fear those creatures. And those few are the Huntsmans! An organization formed to combat the Grimm and protect the people of Remnant.

A huntsman trains years to improve combat abilities and, as such, are usually the strongest people in their community or even in the world. Only a few got what it takes to become one of us.

But if you think you got what it takes, then join one of our academies! In it, you'll have the best training to become the best huntsman. sO WhAt aRe yOU wAIting fOR? BecomE a HUNtSmaN! ANd gO be tHe hERo of your oN f..." the TV finally gave up. It was ruined thanks to an attack from a rival of Roman Torchwick.

If you don't know who Roman Torchwick is, then clearly you haven't been to Vale. For he is the king of the criminals, which made him one of the most powerful men in all of Vale, but right now, he was just a guy pissed at his TV.

"Stupid thing!" Roman said while punching it

"I told you shouldn't have put it in your office!" Roman's right arm woman Neopolitan "said." Using the quotation marks because Neo can't talk. She communicated using Hand signs.

"How was I supposed to know they would attack us?" Roman asked

"Better safe than sorry!" Neo communicated while making a sarcastic face

"You're right! I should've listened to you..." Roman said, admitting defeat.

"I'm always right! But does that changes tonight?" Neo asked

"No, it will continue as planned. The costumes are ready?" Roman asked. Prompting Neo to move her head up and down

"So you can go do it. As for me, I'll look for a way to make that thing works, or else I'll lose my favorite TV show!" Roman said. Prompting Neo to leave his office to go to the warehouse center where Roman chose to hide after the last attack. The warehouse was full of criminals, and there was a significant deposit of a magical ore called Dust near the office.

Neo went to a table with a crate with animal ears, tails, and white jackets with a red feline and claw marks painted in red on the back. Once Neo walked over to the box, she gave the ahead sign, and everyone suited up.

When everybody was ready, she gave them individual lists. Only a few gang members stayed in the warehouse. In the distance, Ruby Rose saw the criminals leave the warehouse and go assault a place.

"They left the building." Ruby said on an earphone plugged into her scroll

"Ok. Here's your chance. I need you to go inside the warehouse and incapacitate all men inside." a female voice said on the other end of the line.

"But what if the leader is still in there?" Ruby asked

"He's strong and probably will play dirty. So just stall him long enough for us to arrive," the voice said. Once the call was over, Ruby went to the ally near the warehouse door. There she spied three guards guarding the entrance.

Once she saw them, she activated her semblance, Petal Burst, which allows her to move fast and in many directions while looking like a Petals cloud. Once she was in front of them, she used her Sniper Scythe called Crescent Rose to attack the three minions at the same time. Making them fly inside the warehouse while destroying the door.

Once inside, several guards jumped on her. She easily dodged them and then counter using Crescent Rose to make them unconscious. Roman heard the sounds of the battle and went outside to see what was going on.

"Can't a man fix his TV in peace?!" Roman said before noticing his man unconscious on the floor and Ruby in the middle of them, "Well, you're tough! Tell me, do you want to become an associate?" Roman sarcastically asked.

Ruby, however, was having none of it. As soon as he stopped talking, she jumped to attack Roman, but he dodged and kicked Ruby. Ruby, however, defended using Crescent Rose's base as a shield.

Ruby then unloaded a magazine of fire dust at the point-blank range, making Roman fly but hardly damaging him thanks to his trenchcoat, involved in ice dust.

"What a Bucket of Cold Watter! Right, Red?" Roman asked before shooting his round of Fire dust. But Ruby didn't have a dust cloak, so her aura had to do the job of stopping the attack.

Roman didn't wait for Ruby to recover and immediately went for her using his Crane. Still, Ruby defended using Crescent Rose and then engaged in a bizarre sword fight with the swords swapped for a Scythe and a Crame. The Irony didn't go over Roman's head.

"You know that fencing is practiced with swords, right?" Roman sarcastically asked during the fight. But Ruby just kept fighting, looking for an open to score a direct hit on Roman.

Finally, the opportunity presented itself, and she managed to hit a slice on Roman's chest. Making him fly back to close the Dust deposit. Once there, she fired at the Dust deposit, making Roman fly close to her and drop his Crane. Ruby then kicked him in his gut, making him kneel and spit some blood.

"So much for a strong underground boss!" Ruby said, confident

"An underground boss has different strengths." Roman said while revealing a small dagger under his sleeve. Ruby barely managed to dodge the attack, but she couldn't avoid Neo's attack when she returned after rearing the explosion.

"For example, an allie is a great strength," Roman said, stomping on Ruby's hand as she tried to reach for Crescent Rose. "Now, be a good girl and go to bed!" before Roman could finish her, however, she used her Petal Burst to leave the warehouse just in time.

"Open fire!" Goodwitch said once she saw Ruby leaving the building. Once that was done, a squad fired at the house. Neo defended both her and Roman using her umbrella.

"Where would I be if it weren't for you?" Roman asked behind a smiley Neo "Now let's go, before they come in" Roman said, prompting both of them to sneak away from there using a special cloak that made both of them invisible. When the good guys went in, they had already left by a window and started to move away quietly, confusing everyone.

"So?" Ruby asked

"That was a good job! You did everything I told you to do, and in the end, he only escaped thanks to something none of us know. You have a future as a huntress," Goodwitch said, reassuring

"So, does that means..."Ruby eyes started to glow

"Ruby Rose. I give you my permission to ingress at Beacon Academy! Congratulations!" Goodwitch said, making Ruby very happy

Meanwhile, in another corner of the city, an Atlas scientist showed the robots' new models. On the crowd was Weiss Schnee and Winter Schnee. Both, however, were not watching the models. Instead, they were talking about Weiss's future.

"Not Atlas!" Weiss said decided

"I can't give you scholarships in any other academy." Winter said

"But I'll still be close to father!"

"Sorry, but unless you get permission from a teacher from any other academy, Atlas is your only choice." Winter said, making Weiss depressed.

But the sadness would be short-lived. Suddenly, one of the robots identified several audience members as hostile and started to shoot at them. Weiss quickly put the Robot under a glass dome using her weapon, myrtenaster.

Weiss then jumped on the stage to fight the Robot with Winter evacuating the building. However, an individual with gray hair and a big mustache stood still in his seat, watching Weiss on the stage.

The Robot shot through the ice to break free, but Weiss used gravity dust to suspend it in the air. The Robot fired several rockets around the room as a reflex, but none hit Weiss. Winter, hearing the explosions went back to see what was going on. When she saw Weiss, she thought about interfering, but the man stopped her.

"You don't interfere with a huntsman's fight, my dear!" the guy said in a pompous tone.

Weiss, meanwhile, used her Glyph semblance to launch her and cut the Robot; while it did little damage, it was enough to incapacitate his weapons.

"But she's not a huntress!" Winter responded

The Robot, however, charged at Weiss, who simply dodged and them attack it using Water. However, the Robot was waterproof, so it did nothing

"Really, what a shame! Tell me, is she over 18?" the man asked.

Weiss, however, managed to find a way to make the Water useful. She shot a magazine of lighting dust. It combines with the Water electrocuted the Robot, but it wasn't finished.

"Yes." Winter said, confused.

"Wonderful! Tell her when she's done beating that Robot that she's welcome at Beacon Academy! Weiss Schnee, right? Hard not to recognize a Schnee!" the man said and left.

Meanwhile, Weiss uses fire dust to light her blade on fire and finally cut the Robot's core. Defeating it for good. Once she was done, Weiss went to see Winter.

"Is everyone ok?" Weiss asked

"You're so lucky!" Winter said, still in disbelieve

"Why?" Weiss said confused

"A Beacon teacher was watching everything. Including your fight! He gave you permission to study at Beacon!"

"Luck favors the bold." Weiss said, leaving the theater

While that was going on, two-man were pushing a Faunus lady around while making pig noises to insult her half pig form. The woman was very uncomfortable and clearly asked for the man to stop. But that only made them more aggressive. However, the man was unaware of Blake Belladonna's presence on a nearby roof, watching everything.

"Let her go!" Blake demanded before jumping from the roof

"Or else?" the most aggressive man asked.

"Come on. We're just having fun. Besides, it's not our fault that she got the most stupid nose!" the other more "behaved" complemented.

"It's not a "fault"! She was born that way!" Blake said as she made her way towards the two man

"And I'm proud of that!" the woman said before making an oinc noise and make the two-man laugh again.

"A prideful clown! Men, I was born to hear a grown woman make an oinc sound! That's the funniest shit!" the aggressive man said

"Imagine in bed! She must have the loudest climax!" the "behaved" complemented again, making the woman very uneasy.

"Stop now!!!" Blake said, holding one of the men by the shirt. The other tried to punch her, but she used her shadow semblance, making him miss. Blake used that as an opportunity to tie the two-man using the ribbon of her weapon, Gambol Shroud, to tie both men.

"Let us go!" The other man demanded

"Will you stop?" Blake asked, very angry

"Yes, we will! Right, Chad?" the first man didn't answer. Blake then pushed the ribbon more, making the man tighter.

"Yes, we will! I promise!" the first man said against his will, prompting Blake to untie the man.

"Get Loss!" Blake demanded, prompting the two to run away. From where the men ran, a Faunus named Tukson went.

"I told you to stay cool, Blake!" he said

"Well, I won't stay still while a Faunus is being harassed." Blake said

"Huh. You got your father's flame! Now, I settle everything. Next week you'll be traveling to Beacon!" 

"Thank you so much, Tukson!" Blake said, very happy

Meanwhile, a bar fight was going on in the biggest bar in the city. On one side, you have Qrow Branwen together with his niece Yang Xiaolong and on the other, the men of Junior's gang. Junior was Roman's main rival in Vale.

"Bad luck, right Kid?" Qrow said while dodging one man and giving a right hook on another

"Are you kidding? I couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate!" Yang said while smashing the head of another man on a table

"Get used to this life! From here, it will only get tougher!" Qrow said, stabbing a guy's shoulder with a broken glass

"Great! Because this is child play! I mean, I didn't even take enough damage to activate my semblance!" Yang said before being hit by a wooden table, which temporarily knocks her out

"Now that must hurt! " Qrow said as the man that did it was standing above her, prideful. However, Yang manages to slowly go up and stand her ground against the strong men.

"Thank you!" Yang said, confident. Everyone was confused until her hair started to Burn. She then grew stronger and quickly took down all men in the bar.

"Thank you for the help, kid! Tell Ruby I send a kiss!" Qrow said

"I should be the one thanking you for the celebration party! By the way, did you send the confirmation to Ozpin?" Yang asked just to check.

"Yeah, I think so..." Qrow responded.

"You think?!" Yang asked worriedly

"I'm sure I did! 100%!"

"I think it's not 100%!"

"Alright, I'll send it again just to be safe! Relax! Next week you and your sister will be the newest Beacon students!"

To call the trip to Beacon Academy long would be an understatement. That's thanks to the heavyweight of the ship. So a trip that normally would take one hour at most takes five hours if it's fast. Luckily for the students, there were plenty of things to do on the ship. Ruby, for example, was playing with her console in the gaming area. That peace, however, wouldn't last.

After dying again, she did many enraged gamers do when the controller is cheap, she threw it on the wall. However, Weiss was passing through the gaming area to get somewhere else. Therefore, the controller hit her baggage, spreading her Dust cases all through the room.

Weiss quickly jumped to pick the all to guarantee the safety of the passengers. Once she had all of them in her lap, she went to talk with Ruby, who was watching so embarrassed she was turning red. 

"What was that?!" Weiss asked furiously

"I'm sorry. I was carried away by the game." Ruby said, trying to hold a sneeze

"Try not to be carried away by the game! You almost..." Weiss was interrupted by Ruby's sneeze, that made the dust explode in her lap. 

As a result, Weiss flew across the room while the explosion caused minor turbulence. A blonde boy was already having problems, but the turbulence was the final straw, and he puked. When Weiss got up, she saw how ragged her dress was. Making her more furious.

"Oh my god! Are you ok?" Ruby said, going after her

"No I'm not! Look at my dress!!!" Weiss said

"I'm so sorry! I'll play a new one for you as soon as I have the money!" Ruby said, still embarrassed

"To hell with your apologies!" Weiss responded

"Relax, ok. It was just a simple sneeze!" Ruby said, tired of Weiss's temper

"Your "simple sneeze" almost destroy the ship, made me lost an entire case of dust and RUINED MY FAVORITE DRESS!!!"

"You're so shallow that the thing that worries you the most about this situation is your dress?" the Blonde boy said, fully recovered

"I don't think you understand, vomit boy, but i..." 

"No, I don't think YOU understand. What happened was just an accident, and she already said sorry! So accept it or don't! But stop yelling at her!" the Blonde boy said

"You know what! It's useless to talk with both of you. I'll leave you two together! You're made for one another." Weiss said while leaving to change herself.

"Are you ok?" the boy asked Ruby

"Yes. I could have handled this, but thanks!" Ruby answered

"You're welcome. My name is Jaune, by the way, Jaune Arc!" 

"I'm Ruby Rose!" Ruby said while hearing a commotion at the front of the ship. 

"What's going on there?" Ruby asked 

"A crazy blonde girl is challenging the entire ship to an arm-wrestling match." Jaune's answer sank Ruby's heart. 

After hearing it, she went to stop her sister before she did anything stupid, leaving a confused Jaune behind. As she got closer to the commotion, she could hear people scream, "Yang! Yang! Yang!" until a loud thud made the now visible crowd erupt with joy.

"Is there a fucker who dares to challenge me?!" 

"Language Yang..." Ruby said while facepalming

"I dare!" A ginger girl screamed 

"Nora, you don't need to" a boy with long black hair that was sitting next to the girl said

"But I want!!!" Nora said excitedly as she jumped in front of the table where the match would take place. The two girls were now staring at each other confidently before the match finally begun.

At first, Yang was surprised by Nora's strength, and that surprise almost resulted in defeat. Still, eventually, she recovered, and now the girls were tied in their display of force for the delight of the crowd. Ruby, however, noticed that the table was starting to vibrate.

"Yang, I think the table will..." Ruby tried to say before noticing that her voice was being muffled by the crowd. 

"You're good! But what about we turn up the heat?" Yang said while activating Burn semblance thanks to Nora's strength

"If that's what you want... Ren! Charge me!!!" Nora said, prompting Ren to throw a lightning dust ore to the girl, who grabbed and activate her semblance, high voltage. This boosted her strength and put the crowd in a state of frenzy. Ruby, however, noticed a problem

If the table broke, the two girls' strength would be redirected to the floor of the ship, maybe even making it fall. Ruby tried to get over the crowd to stop the match, she even tried to use Petal Burst, but she wasn't finding any breach. 

Finally, Ruby gave up and decide to look for a teacher. Lucky for her, Goodwitch already noticed the commotion and went to see. As she arrived in front of the ship she screamed

"Enough!" this turned the crowd quiet and made the two girls deactivate their semblance. While the table still broke, the most damage dealt was in the girl's elbows.

"You'll both get plenty of chance to challenge each other in class. Until then, please try not to destroy the ship." Goodwitch complemented before leaving

"I told you." Ren said while helping Nora to get up

"I don't care! This was a ton of fun!" Nora said, now standing

"Remember, this isn't over!" Yang said defiantly 

"I can't wait for the next time!!!"

"I sure can..." Ruby said very dishearten

"Come on, Ren! I'm hungry!" Nora said, dragging Ren to the cafeteria 

"When you're not hungry?" Ren said as the two left the front.

"I leave you alone for a few hours, and you almost destroy the ship!!!" Ruby said 

"Ok, come down! Shit, sometimes I forget I'm the older sister!" Yang said, trying to calm Ruby down

"Yang, get a hold of yourself! Life is not a never ending party." Ruby said, worried

"I'm aware of that. But that won't stop me from having fun!" Yang said with a confident smile. Ruby tried to smile back, but she was tired of taking Yang out of those kinds of situations. Noticing that, Yang decided to say something to Ruby.

"I heard there is a teacher in Beacon who also owns a library and, as such, has many books on his luggage."

"Thank you, Yang! You're the best sister!" Ruby said, overjoyed with the prospect of reading something

"I know I am. I'm also very humble!" 

"Oh yeah, the queen of humbleness!" Ruby said sarcastically before going for the room with all the luggage. Once there, Ruby thought: "where would a librarian put his luggage?" before finally seeing Blake reading a book with her ears hidden by a black ribbon. 

"Hey, do you know where the luggage of the librarian teacher is?" Ruby asked innocently

"What do you want with Tukson's luggage?" Blake answered menacingly

"I... I just want to read a book! I didn't mean to... Oh my god! Ninjas of Love Volume One!!!" Ruby said, pointing to the book Blake was reading

"Do you know this book?" Blake asked, surprised

"I love the first three, but I stopped reading after the original author died" Ruby said

"I see. Here!" Blake said, giving Ruby the fourth volume of the series

"I don't know..."

"They're excellent! Trust me, the new writers did a good job!" Blake said, finally convincing Ruby to read it.

"Thanks! I'm Ruby, by the way. Ruby Rose"

"Blake Belladonna" the two girls spend the rest of the trip reading books and chatting about it

"Good Afternoon. We will be arriving in Beacon in half an hour." the pilot said through the speaker. Prompting the two girls to stop reading and get their things. After that, they left the room, Ruby looking for Yang and Blake following. 

"There you are! Who's your friend?" Yang said once she found Ruby

"Yang, that's Blake. Blake, my sister Yang!" 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yang." Blake said while timidly trying to shake Yang's hand

"No need to worry! Trues me, my sister and I are the last bitches that you want to impress!" Yang said, turning the handshake into a fist bump. 

Finally, the ship arrived, and the girls could see Beacon more clearly, making all the girls stop in awe. This didn't last, though, as everybody was summoned to the theater to be welcomed by the teachers. 

"Good afternoon! As the headmaster of Beacon Academy, I thank the trust you gave us and hope we can give it back to you. Tomorrow you'll be all divide into teams. Now, does anybody have any questions?" Ozpin said before Blake raised her hand

"Miss Belladonna?"

"Teams?" Blake asked, very nervous

"Yes, Miss Belladonna. Your dorm rooms, class time, and even grades are tied to a team of four divided tomorrow. Any more questions?" 

"How will the teams be divided?" Nora asked

"By a test. More details about it will be given when you all go do it. Any more? No? Ok, Professor Fall will send you all to your dorm rooms for the night."

"This way, please..." Cinder said, guiding the students with her eyes fixed on Ruby. Blake felt something strange about her, but she couldn't tell. What nobody knew was that Cinder was communicating telepathically to someone

"The daughter of Summer Rose? She could be a problem." the female voice said on her head

"What shall I do?" Cinder asked

"For now, find a way to kick the girl out of the school and if she stays... Well, arrange a family meeting between mother and daughter." 

Ruby was the first to wake up on the test day. Not to eat breakfast, but to marvel at some of the weapons, the other students brought. It didn't take long for another student to wake up, though. Said student was a girl with long, vibrant red hair and jade eyes.

"Good morning!" Ruby said to the girl, startling her

"Be quiet! Here, I'll take a picture with you!" 

"Why would I take a picture with you?" Ruby asked, confused

"You don't know me?" the girl said hopefully

"Should I?" Ruby said before being hugged by the girl

"Thank you!" the girl said, relieved

"Who are you?" Ruby asked, even more, confused

"I'm..."

"PYRRHA NIKOS!!!" another girl that just awoke shouted, pointing at the red hair girl. That woke up several other girls that went after the redhead. The commotion woke up Blake and Yang that went to see what happened

"What was that?" Blake asked, still half asleep

"I don't know." Ruby said

"Come on, you two! Get dressed, and let's eat breakfast!" Yang said, already dressed for the test. The other two did as told, and the three girls went to the cafeteria. Ruby had cereals, Blake had a chicken sandwich, and Yang had fruit salad.

Once they picked up their food, they went to sit on the only table available, which had eight places and was empty. The girls decided to sit on the same row with Ruby in the right, Yang on the left, and Blake in the middle. Sometimes after sitting, Jaune went to talk with the girls

"Mind if I sit with you?" Jaune asked Ruby

"Yang, Blake, can he?" Ruby asked the others

"Only if he sits on the other row" Yang said with her mouth full. Jaune did as she said, and he ended up sitting in front of Ruby. He had a simple ham sandwich

"So, Ruby, who are you're friends?" Jaune asked curiously

"This is Blake Belladonna, and that one is..."

"Yang, can we sit?" Nora asked with Ren beside her.

"Sure! You two can sit beside the blond boy over! I still don't know your names." Yang said

"I'm Nora Valkyrie. The cute boy accompanying me is Lie Ren!" Nora said while sitting beside Jaune, with Ren sitting beside her. She had pancakes, and Ren had a fruit and vegetable salad. "And who is the blonde boy?" Nora asked

"My name is Jaune Arc. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Jaune said cordially

"Look! A gentleman! How a fine piece of bread like you ended up sitting with two wild cards like Yang and me?" Nora asked. But before Jaune could answer, Pyrrha came to talk with Ruby.

"Excuse me. I know we don't know each other, but can I sit with you?" Pyrrha asked shyly

"Sure, you can!" Ruby said. Prompting Pyrrha to sit beside Ren on the other row. She had scrambled eggs.

"And who are you?" Yang asked while finishing her salad

"Is so good to hear this question! I'm..." Before Pyrrha could end the sentence, Weiss went to sit beside Yang to talk with Pyrrha. She was eating eggs with ham and cheese

"Pyrrha! Do you have in mind who will be in your team?" Weiss asked, making Ruby notice her

"You! You're the rude girl from the ship!" Ruby said

"Great! Pyrrha, you need to choose a better company." Weiss said coldly to Ruby

"What that supposed to mean?!" Yang asked angrily

"Guys, let's eat. The test is in a little while, so is best for us to focus on the breakfast and to know each other in a PEACEFUL WAY!" Jaune said

"Jaune is right." Ruby complemented, prompting Yang and Weiss to stop and eat. "Pyrrha, right? Pyrrha what?" Ruby asked

"Pyrrha Nikos. Is nice to meet all of you, although I only know the name of one." Pyrrha said, referring to Weiss. That prompted everyone to present himself, and when Pyrrha heard Jaune's name, her eyes glowed. "Jaune Arc? From the legendary Arc family?!"

"Yes" Jaune said, disheartened

"Oh my... Is really nice to meet you!" Pyrrha said while blushing. Growing up, she heard stories of the Arc family's heroes, and seeing one for herself made her very happy.

"Ruby has a famous friend." Yang said, teasing

"I didn't know you were famous, Jaune!" Ruby said

"Well, my family is famous." Jaune said, embarrassed

"You don't know who Pyrrha Nikos, the Arc family and me are?" Weiss asked Ruby

"No. Sadly we didn't exchange our names yesterday." Ruby said half in a tone that was a mix of sarcasm and sincerity. Weiss was getting angry, but she controlled herself after seeing Pyrrha looking at her.

"My name is Weiss Schnee. Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss said pridefully

"So, We have celebrities and heiress sitting at the same table as us on our first day at School! Man, imagine the last!" Yang said to Ruby.

Sometime after, Cinder came to pick the students for the test. Everyone picked up and went to a small hill where they could see a big forest. There, Ozpin and all the professors were waiting for them.

"Welcome students! Today you will all take the first steps to the rest of your lives. To some, this will be the end of dreams and maybe, even life. To others, a new beginning as huntsman in training! But it doesn't matter where your life will go. What matters is how you choose to react to the many turns it takes." Ozpin said, confident as the students arrived for the test

"What do you mean as the end?" a scared boy asked

"Well, this test will not only determine which teams you will be on. It will also determine if you will be accepted into our academy." Ozpin responded, flooding everyone's head with worrying thoughts.

They believed they already were accepted. Of course, someone asked Ozpin about, to which he responded:

"When you impressed a professor of this academy, it was because of your potential. This test is the only way to know if this potential can be molded into reality." 

"But you also said the end of our lifes. You can't..." the scared boy started to say before being interrupted by Ozpin

"When you agreed to come to Beacon, you all sign a contract that would not responsabilize Beacon in the unlikely but possible case of death. That contract sadly exists for a reason. Now, I will give all of you one last chance to walk away. Nobody will judge you, very few can face death and not hesitate. But for those that believe they can, I also assure you, my colleagues and I will do everything to ensure your safety." 

Only a few people walked away after Ozpin's speech, and Ruby knew none that did. After that, the students were invited to step above a metal platform. Once they did, Ozpin asked Goodwitch to talk the instructions of the test

"Do you see the tower at the end of the forest? That's your destination. Now, our Grimm expert, professor Oobleck, filled this forest with Grimm, and our survivalist, professor Branwen, placed totems in the forest for you to pick. To find it, you will need to use your five senses, and once found, you shall bring the totems to the tower. The tower will be guarded by the strongest Grimm. The totems will determine the teams. And before you jump, one more thing, you shall make this test in pairs. The pair will be the first person you'll find when you land. That's it, everyone! Good Luck." The instructions made people think. 

Some, like Ruby, were worried about the pairs, others like Jaune were wandering about the jump part. All those thoughts were tossed to the wind when the metal platform launched them in the air, and on the fly, the students had to make a plan for the landing.

Ruby shot magazines of gravity dust to slow down the fall. Weiss used her glyphs to make stairs to make a gracious but fast descent to the ground. 

Blake used Gambol Shroud's ribbon to swing to the trees, and Yang just went to the ground making a cool pose in case someone was watching, but most importantly so that she could absorve any damage taken to activate Burn later

Jaune also went straight to the floor, but instead of a cool pose, he just landed on the floor with his Aura protecting him from any damage.

"He launches us in the air as our first test! What will be the last? Fight a thousand Grimm?" Jaune said as he gets up. Unknown for him, Pyrrha landed on the tree above and saw it all.

"For a member of a legendary family, you sure don't' know how to land." Pyrrha said naively

"Very funny Pyrrha..." Jaune said, grumpy

"I'm sorry! I..."

"It's ok, you're right. Let's find the totems, and sorry for being rude." Jaune said dishearten

"Find Yang, Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, god, even Nora! But please let my pair not be..." Ruby thought before locking eyes with Weiss as she ran in the forest

"Of course! The universe hates me!" Ruby said while Weiss just walked away

"Wait! I don't like you either, but we got to follow the rules!" Ruby said, following Weiss

"We don't get to do anything. Let's just pretend we didn't saw each other!" Weiss said, angry

"You don't get it. They are probably monitoring us! They know we were the first person we met! It sucks, but you and I are partners until the end of this test." Ruby said

"A pox on this test! Fine, just don't get in my way and see if you can help in any way." Weiss said   
in a very bossy way

"Yes, princess..." Ruby said sarcastically

Yang, meanwhile, was walking through the forest when she heard something on a nearby bush. 

"Come out. I don't bite!" She said while getting closer to the bush, unaware of the Beowolf hiding in it. It tried to attack by surprise, but Yang dodged it just in time.

"But you sure will!" Yang said as she loaded Ember Celica. The Beowulf used that opportunity to howl and call for others nearby. Suddenly dozens of them were surrounding Yang.

"Sweet! A family reunion!" Yang said as she punched the biggest Grimm of the group using the shotgun function of Ember Celica to enhance the damage and kill it. That made the entire group furious.

"I just killed the favorite son." Yang said, noticing the commotion. Several Beowolfs tried to bite Yang, but as they went close, she activates her Burn semblance. 

The vibrant flames scared some Beowolfs away, and those that remained were no match for Yang's enhanced speed and strength. 

"Piece of Cake!" Yang said as she deactivated her semblance, unaware again of one remaining Beowolf waiting for an opportunity to attack Yang, and now that the opportunity presented itself, he just went for it.

Yang managed to react by preparing one punch to counter it, but before she could do it, the Beowolf was shot by Blake, who was on the biggest branch of the closest tree.

"I could have taken him." Yang said, bragging

"Come on, I think I know where the totems are!" Blake said

In another part of the forest, Ren was fighting a king taijitu Grimm. The serpent tried to attack the boy many times, but he dodged all of its attacks. At one point, the Grimm believed that it had the boy cornered under a narrow cliff where he could not dodge, but Ren simply jumped in the air to avoid the attack.

In the air, he noticed the perfect opening and used it to slice the Grimm's head. Assuming victory, Ren just left the Grimm's body behind, but as he left, the Grimm grew two more heads, a black and a white, and both went to attack him.

He couldn't dodge thanks to the surprise, so instead, he used his aura to block the blackhead, defending it using both hands, and at first, he didn't even move. However, he had to use one of his hands to block another. This put his aura on the limit and also forced him back to a narrow mountain

As he was standing there, Ren noticed an unstable rock. Finally, he made a plan. He would deactivate his Aura and dodge under the Grimm, who would hit the mountain and be smashed by the rock. The execution was perfect, and Ren was able to finally go to the forest, where Nora was waiting for him

"I was wondering when you would show up!" Ren said, happy for seeing his friend. In response, Nora just touched his nose while saying boop.

"And that's our last pair." Goodwitch said as Ren and Nora met

"I hope that they were good pairs!" Cinder said, pretending to care for the students

"Cinder, dear! On the forest fighting Grimm, anyone is a good partner!" Peter Port said in response.

"But sometimes that is not enough" Qrow said as he returned from saving one pair formed by a boy and a girl that was having trouble with an Ursa

"Are the two ok?" Ozpin asked

"The boy will survive, the girl... didn't make it" Qrow said sadly, drowning every teacher's heart in sadness. "I'm sorry, Oz. I should have gone faster!" Qrow complemented

"Death is sad, but these kids knew of the possibility. Let's just pray for this not to happen again" Ozpin said in a regretful yet reassuring tone.

"Admit it! We're lost! That's the third time we passed by this rock" Ruby said, angry

"At least I'm going somewhere! You're just following!" Weiss responded just as angry

"I'm just... Ok, let's calm down. There's got be something we're not seeing." Ruby said, making Weiss sit on the rock Ruby mentioned while she walked around it thinking.

"Ok, you remember the instructions?" Ruby asked

"Yes, they said that we need to use our five senses" Weiss responded

"Ok, have you seen anything weird when we were in the air?" Ruby asked

"I was more focused on the landing part! Was an elevator to basic?!"

"Ok, smell, have you smelled anything weird?"

"Yes, I smell a forest! I grew up in a snowy city, so this is new for me!" Weiss responded, losing patience

"Ok, touch! Have you..."

"I DON'T KNOW! I never been in a forest before, so I don't know how a forest looks, smell and..." Weiss suddenly stopped with a surprised face

"What is it?" Ruby asked as she stopped walking around the rock.

"Step right here" Weiss was pointing at the ground on the right side of the rock. Ruby did as told and the only sound heard was of dry mud and grass being stomped.

"Now step here" Weiss was now pointing at the ground in front of the rock. The sound of smashed grass remained, but now it was accompanied by the sound of metal being stepped on it. When both girls noticed that, they smiled

"Yes, we did it!" Ruby screamed in joy

"Well, you helped" Weiss answered. "Now where to?" Weiss said, stepping on the ground. It didn't take long to realize that there were two ways to go.

"Of course! One way would be easy!" Ruby said, frustrated

"What shall we do?" Weiss asked, looking for an alternative

"I know! Give me your scroll id, and I will give you mine. We will then split up, and the one that went to the right path will call the other!" Ruby suggested

"THAT's... actually a good plan." Weiss said while looking like she was being stabbed. The girls then exchanged their scroll id, and each went one way

Ruby's path was through some thick large grass and small thin trees, so it wasn't hard for her to get lost. But she would find the path once more by hearing the sound of metal being stomped and return course. Once the grass went down, and the trees disappeared, Ruby started to see the tower.

"Weiss, I think I figured this out. The metal plate serves as a road that links the totems to the tower. I'm close to the tower, which means your path is the one to the totems" Ruby said to Weiss using her scroll.

"Ok. Have you seen the Grimm guarding the tower?" Weiss asked

"Not yet, I..." before Ruby could finish, a loud flap of wings was heard. She looked at the place where the flap came only to see a Nevermore flying above her.

"Ruby? Ruby?!!"

"It's a Nevermore. We will fight a Nevermore!" Ruby said in disbelieve

"A Nevermore? How did they... Screw it! Ruby, get out of there quietly!" Weiss said

"I can't! It's looking at me, so if I move it will..." Ruby suddenly got an idea

"Ruby?"

"Pick up the totem." Ruby said as she drew Crescent Rose

"You gotta be shitting me!" Weiss said before the end of the call.

As soon as Ruby drew her weapon, the Nevermore made his move. At first, by flapping his wings, making winds of incredible speed that made small trees and rocks fly away. To avoid this, Ruby stabbed crescent Rose on the floor. 

Once the wind was over, the Nevermore tried to peck Ruby, still dizzy on the floor. But before it could do it, she activated Petal Burst to dodge the creature and flank it. By the end of the move, she was right above the Nevermore's back.

Ruby then went for the kill by stabbing the nevermore. However, crescent rose's blade didn't go deep enough to harm any organs. But it was enough to make the nevermore howl in pain. 

The nevermore then tried to get Ruby out of it's back by speeding to the air. Ruby only maintained grip thanks to Crescent Rose being stuck in the Grimm. But the faster the Grimm went, the more Crescent Rose became unstuck. 

Making Ruby nervous and giving Cinder (who was watching the fight unfold with the other professors) a plan for how she would get rid of Ruby without killing her. 

"She is losing grip! We got to help!" Cinder shouted, pretending to care

"She's my niece! It might take long and result in a few scars, but Ruby will definitely get out of this one fine." Qrow responded 

"What if she doesn't?! What if instead of a random girl, it's the body of your niece you got to recover?! Do you want her to meet her mother sooner?!" 

"If she doesn't make it. then she wasn't ready." Qrow said, still unfazed by Cinder

"How can you stay so calm while your niece is up there fighting?! Don't you care for her?!" Cinder said, trying to appeal to the emotional

"I'm calm because I'm confident she will survive. She got Summer's blood running in her veins. And YOU, of all people, know what this means." Qrow responded, making Cinder turn to Ozpin for support

"Cinder, I understand your feelings. But it still too early for us to intervene. She still got her Aura and Weapon to help her in this fight. Trust more in your mentor's daughter!" Ozpin said confident, prompting Cinder to respond with a fake smile

"Crap!" Cinder thought, frustrated

"You'll get other shots." Salem said coldly as she watched everything unfold through the Cinder's eyes

The nevermore stopped ascending to the sky and started to prepare for a stride forward, but it remained still for a brief moment. Ruby used this opportunity to, once more, stab the Grimm in the back. 

In a reflex, the Grimm started to stride forward early and not as fast as it wanted. Still, it didn't momentarily unbalanced Ruby and forced her to tilt Crescent Rose to the Right.

And to the surprise of the Girl, the Grimm turned right because of this motion. At that moment, Ruby knew what to do. With no time to lose, she picked up her scroll to locate Weiss

"He launches us in the air as our first test! What will be the last? Fight a thousand Grimm?" Jaune said as he gets up. Unknown to him, Pyrrha landed on the tree above and saw it all.

"For a member of a legendary family, you sure don't' know how to land" Pyrrha said naively

"Very funny Pyrrha..." Jaune said, grumpy

"I'm sorry! I..."

"It's ok, you're right. Let's find the totems, and sorry for being rude" Jaune said, dishearten. Prompting Pyrrha to go down the tree and follow him.

They walked forward at first until coming across a big mountain with no way insight to go around it. As a response, the pair stopped to try to find a possible way to the totems. 

"Listen, Pyrrha, I have nothing. Do you get any clues as to where the totems could be?" Jaune asked

"Goodwitch said that we would need to use our five senses." Pyrrha responded

"Ok, five senses! Let's start by looking! Huh, that tree is weird." Jaune said, pointing at one of the trees

"Which one?" Pyrrha asked curiously

"That one. It has brighter leaves and smaller branches than the ones around it." 

"Holy heavens! That's an autumn tree!" Pyrrha said, running towards it.

"A what?" Jaune asked when he arrived at the Tree sometime after Pyrrha

"An autumn tree has its name for being the only tree that doesn't have leaves that fall in the  
autumn. Instead, they become purple and pink. They are my favorites from Argus, but they only grow there! How can one be here in the middle of this forest?" Pyrrha wondered

"There's more, and they formed a line! It's a trail to the totems!" Jaune concluded. The two went through the route the trees presented until coming across the tower

"So it leads to the tower, but not to the totems?" Pyrrha asked

"It might lead to both. We just need to..." before Jaune could finish it, a deathstalker surprised the pair. It tried to sting Jaune, but Pyrrha blocked it using her shields.

"RUN!!!" Jaune screamed as the pair went to the forest

"I could have taken him." Yang said, bragging

"Come on, I think I know where the totems are!" Blake said 

"How do you know it?" Yang asked, following her

"It's simple. Have you ever been to a forest?" Blake asked

"I used to camp when I was younger." Yang responded

"So think about the smells of a forest." Blake said. Prompting Yang to think about the smells of the forest and unknowingly to smell the forest. As she did, Yang noticed an uncommon greasy stench in the air. 

"That's it! We just got to follow the stench!"

"Not quite... You see, I did follow it, but I ended up in the tower. There I made the assumption that the stench came served to link the tower to the totems. So I went back and bumped into you." Blake explained. Shortly after the girls went the other way, the stench presented

"So... you were at the tower! Did you saw the Grimm we will fight?" Yang asked

"It was a nevermore."

"A nevermore? That will be one tough son of a bitch!" Yang said, excited of the prospect of fighting a nevermore

"Hopefully not. It was sleeping when I arrived, so if we are quick and lucky, we can pick our totems and kill it before it awakes." Blake said before listening to the Nevermore's howl.

"Luck isn't on our side!" Yang said. Shortly after, they arrived at some kind of ruin. In it, there were chest pieces. The white ones were so old they were turning yellow, and the black ones were cracked on the bottom.

Yang picked up a "white" queen so that she could say:

"It's like picking a mini version of me!" Blake laughed it off as she also picked up a "white" queen.

"Ok, now let's wait for other pairs to arrive for us to form an alliance with them and fight the nevermore." Blake said as she settled on the floor. Some time passed without anyone arriving until the girls heard the sound of trees being demolished.

The girls immediately started to where the sound came from while planning for a possible fight. Soon, from the forest, and Ursa emerged. Blake shot it on reflex, immediately killing it and revealing that Nora was riding it. 

"I think it broke." Nora said in a mix of confusion and sadness. Soon, a gasping Ren came running from the forest, trying to reach her.

"You will not ride any Grimm ever again!" Ren said, still trying to catch his breath

"I will ride a lot of Grimms!" Nora responded before going down to the ruins to pick up her totem. She picked the "white" tower, prompting her to sing:

"I'm the queen of the castle! I'm the queen of the castle!" 

Ren, meanwhile, took some time to chose his piece. Finally, Nora picked up another "white" tower and gave it to Ren.

"That way we can combine, and you can stop thinking too hard!" Nora justified joyfully

"Now that you guys decided your totems, we need..." Blake was starting to say something before being interrupted.

"Hey, Ice Queen! Where's your pair?!" Yang asked as she saw Weiss leaving the forest in a hurry and picking up the two remaining "white" queens

"My pair is the stupid one fighting the nevermore. Now, if you excuse me, I will go save her!" 

"That won't be necessary." Blake said, pointing to Ruby falling from the sky after releasing the Nevermore. She used the same tactic as before to slow down the fall, and soon, she was in front of Weiss and the others

"Ruby! Are you mad?!" Weiss asked

"It was fighting it or remaining still like a statue for the rest of the test! Besides, it helped me! I managed to ride it so that I could get to you!" Ruby said positive

"You rode a Nevermore?! So cool!!!" Nora said with her eyes glowing, despairing Ren's heart

"Don't worry Nora, you will soon..." once more, Blake was interrupted. This time by the arrival of Jaune and Pyrrha with the Deathstalker chasing them. Pyrrha still managed to shot it to slow the Grimm down. Allowing Jaune to regroup with the others

"What did you bring for us?" Yang asked, exited

"If we're lucky, a short fight" Jaune responded

"Now, come on! Where's the fun on that?!" Yang responded joyfully before charging Burn and jumping to the Death Stalker. It defended by whipping her using its tail. As a result, Yang flew back to a rock.

Meanwhile, Weiss was charging ice dust to form a dome around the Grimm, but she failed to see that Ruby was engaging with the Grimm in a close fight. So when the Dome was finally formed, it trapped Ruby in it.

Seeing this, Weiss quickly charged fire dust to melt the ice. Meanwhile, inside the dome, the Grimm was attacking relentless, Ruby was barreling dodging thanks to petal burst. 

Finally she dodged right under the Grimm, seeing the creature exposed abdomen, Ruby took the shot. The creature screamed in pain as the bullet entered his body. But sadly for Ruby, her shot didn't harm any vital organ of the Grimm. 

Angry, the Deathstalker grabbed Ruby with its claws. If it wasn't for her Aura, it would have sliced her in half just for the strength of those claws. But that didn't matter, for she was trapped and the Grimm was ready to sting her with deadly poison.

As the Grimm was ready to do it, Weiss melted the ice. This distracted the Grimm for long enough so that Ruby could escape using Petal Burst to behind a close tree. As soon as she went there, she felt dizzy and tasted blood in her mouth. 

The Deathstalker still wanted revenge though. So he charged for the tree where Ruby was. Trying to save her, Weiss loaded a mix of wind and smoke dust to blind and stop the Grimm. She was, however, unaware of the fact that Blake jumped to fight it and save Ruby. 

So when the mix of dust was shot into the Grimm's direction, it also affected Blake. Thinking quickly, Weiss loaded a round of gravity dust to shot into the mist so that one of the two could levitated so that Blake could escape.

Weiss hit the Deathstalker, but she was unaware of the fact that Gambol Shroud's ribbon was tied onto the Grimm's tail. So when it flew, Blake went with it.

But at least she was visible. Noticing that, Ruby used Petal Burst to grab her friend in the air. The two landed next to the rock where Yang was. When they felt, Blake let a small groan. 

"Are you ok?" Ruby asked

"No Ruby. I'm afraid I won't be ok, until that thing is dead!" Blake responded when she got up. 

"We don't need to kill it. I got the perfect escape plan." Jaune said as he reached the two girls with Ren, Nora and Pyrrha behind him

"Weiss will hit the Deathstalker with another mix of that wind and smoke dust while I use my Aura amp semblance to give us a boost of speed and run away. All we need is to explain the plan to Yang and we are good to go!" the explaining to Yang part would be difficult.

That's because Yang planed to fool the Grimm by pretending to do the same charge as she did the first time, but dodging the whip so she could attack its eyes and blind it. Of course, she was unaware of their plan so she got in their way.

"Yang wait! " Ruby screamed to her sister. Yang however, didn't pay attention to her and kept charging.

"Change of plans! Pyrrha, shoot it!" Jaune said. Prompting Pyrrha to shoot the Grimm. But she thought Yang was going the same charge as she did before and not fool the Deathstalker. 

So when Yang fooled the Grimm, she also fooled Pyrrha and as a result, Yang took the bullet and went straight to the ground with the Deathstalker about to give the killing blow. Ruby was ready to once again charge at the Grimm, when suddenly an enormous explosion was heard

Weiss had one case of combustion dust. The hardest dust to put in a capsule and the most powerful. When she heard about the Nevermore, she planned to use it on it. But with Yang on the floor, there was no choice.

Weiss mixed combustion and gravity dust to shot at the Grimm, making it fly to far away to the forest. They all could hear that it was still alive, as the sound of trees falling confirmed he was moving. However, said noises went to the tower instead of them. 

"You Idiots! Things could have gone much more smoothly if you didn't go in my way!" Weiss screamed furiously at Blake, Yang and Ruby.

"You could have warned us you would attack!!!" Ruby responded in equal fury

"Girls?" Jaune said trying to stop the fighting

"I was loading my weapon. What did you think I was going to do with it?!" 

"What makes you think we saw that?! We were in the middle of a freaking battle! You're not the center of the universe you know!" 

"Girls."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Weiss asked outraged

"It means that ever since we met you've been acting as if you're better than me! You're not!" Ruby responded

"Girls..." Jaune's tone was of a complete dismay

"I saved your ass back there AND I was the one who discovered the path!!!"

"My hero..." Ruby said sarcastically while bowing. After that she spat on one of Weiss's shoes. Making her even more furious.

"LISTEN UP YOUR LITTLE SHIT!!! I..."

"Shut up!!!" Blake and Yang screamed at the same time. Ending the discussion.

"Thank you!" Blake said giving the word to Jaune

"That Deathstalker went back to the tower where it will wait for us with the Nevermore. We need to kill both of them, so this means we have to work together! Now, who among us has a semblance and or weapons that facilitates high mobility?" Jaune asked

"My semblance makes me go fast and even fly" Ruby responded

"I have my Glyphs and Dust." Weiss responded

"I have Gambol Shroud." Blake responded

"My semblance allows me to be faster and stronger when I'm hit." Yang responded 

"My semblance works the same way that Yang does. But I need some lighting dust from the snow queen." Nora said.

"I don't have lighting semblance." 

"Then this is what we'll do. Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and I will fight the Deathstalker and you four will fight the Nevermore. But in other for that to work, you got to work together as a team." Jaune said as he picked the two remaining "white" towers and gave one to Pyrrha.

"I hope that'll work." Jaune completed after picking up the towers

"Of course it will! I don't know about you guys, but I didn't swim this vast sea to die so close to beach!" Ruby said, cheering the others as they went to the Tower. When they arrived, the Nevermore could have been seen in a tower and they could have seen the Deathstalker in a bridge.

"We'll give you an opening!" Jaune whispered. Prompting Ren to climb some tower ruins avoiding detection. Finally, he was right above it and so; he jumped above the Grimm and stabbed his legs to the ground. 

"GO!!!" Jaune gave the sign as Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang went to the bridge. The Nevermore noticed them coming, so he shot his feathers on the ground. 

Ruby used petal burst to dodge the feathers and reach the other side of the bridge. Blake used her shadow semblance to fool the Grimm and then swing to the other side using Gambol Shroud's ribbon. 

Weiss defended all feathers using her glyphs and Yang jumped on the feathers to get close to the Grimm and punch it on the face. Making it collide on a close mountain. Yang didn't notice, however, that if she felt she wouldn't survive. Now she was hanging on the cliff.

Noticing that she was about to fall, Blake used Gambol Shroud's ribbon to launch herself to where Yang was. As she did it, Yang lost all grip and felt. Noticing that, Blake tossed one of Gambol Shroud's blade so that Yang could hang on it, while stabbing the other blade on the mountain. 

To make matters worse, the Nevermore started once more to flap its wings to make the girls lose their grip. Because of the flapping wings, the tower where Ruby was under started to fall. Quickly Ruby used the falling debris of the tower as platforms to launch herself to where the Nevermore was.

There, she stabbed Crescent Rose on the same spot she did before, to once more control the Grimm. That provided Blake and Yang with an opening and the two swung backed to safety. As for Ruby, she used the top view of the battlefield to come up with a plan. 

With no time to lose she made the Nevermore go as high as it could once she was there she went back to the floor to regroup with the others in the same way she done before. Once there, she reunited with Blake, Weiss and Yang.

"Girls, I got a Plan!" Ruby then proceded to tell her plan to the girls

"That plan is crazy! You know that?" Weiss asked

"I know! But can you pull it off?" Ruby asked back to Weiss

"Can I?!" Weiss responded confident

"Is that a yes or..." Ruby asked

"That's a yes!" Weiss responded

Meanwhile, the Deathstalker was charging Jaune and Ren relentless, Ren dodged the attacks and Jaune block it, but the fact was they weren't dealing a lot of damage thanks to the thick exoskeleton of the beast.

After a while, the Deathstalker stopped charging. It had noticed that the best course of action would be to sting the two boys. That raised the pressure on them and forced Pyrrha and Nora to come up with a quick plan before anything bad would happen.

Finally, Pyrrha shot the beast. She knew it wouldn't kill it because the exoskeleton was too strong, but it could scared it and give Ren and Jaune precious time for the both of them to run. The beast ignored most of the shots, except one right in its sting.

Once the bullet hit the sting, the creature screamed in pain and venom started leaking from the place where the bullet landed. All the while the Deathstalker waved its tail around, making it "rain" poison. Jaune and Pyrrha then reunited and used both their shields as Umbrellas with Ren and Nora on the back. 

" What are we going to do?" Pyrrha asked while Jaune was watching the Deathstalker wave around its tail. Once the venom rain was over, he noticed the sting was loose thanks to the shot.

"I have an idea!" Jaune said. Immediately after explaining it, Ren went to grab the Deathstalker's claws, and with the aid of Jaune's Aura amp, stuck him there. The Grimm however, tried to sting the boy, but Pyrrha cut the Grimm's sting and it felt right above its head.

"Nora, now!" Jaune said, launching Nora in the air, so she could hit the sting with her hammer, Magnhild. The plan worked and the sting pierce through the Grimm's head. Killing it.

"Now that's what i call hammering up!" Nora said making everyone around her relax a little. The relaxing period ended with the return or the Nevermore. The four could just watch and pray that Ruby and the others could finished it.

"Yang go!" Ruby said. Making Yang go "fight" the Nevermore. In quotations because that was only a distraction to what was happening behind the fight. Blake had build a slingshot so that Ruby could decapitate it.

"Now!!!" Yang gave the sign. Prompting Ruby to jump in the slingshot. Behind it, Weiss used a wind dust to blow Ruby to the Grimm. Ruby went full speed to the nevermore's head, but it wasn't enough to decapitate it and now she was heading straight to the mountain.

Weiss quickly summoned her glyphs so that Ruby could stick to the mountain, plus adding several more so that she could run to the off the mountain and possibly decapitate it. 

Ruby ran as fast as it could and she could feel Crescent Rose piercing more and more through the Grimm's flesh. Finally, just before reaching the top of the mountain, she decapitated the Grimm. Making it rain blood all thorough the battlefield.

Once the Nevermore was dead, everyone's scroll vibrated. In it there was a message saying: "Welcome to Beacon Academy, Future Huntsman and Huntress!" Everyone jump and screamed in joy, except Jaune who just gave a simple smile.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren. You four picked up the white tower and from this day onward you shall be known in this academy as team JNPR. Lead by; Jaune Arc!" Ozpin said, prompting a huge ovation from the crowd. 

Once more, everyone was screaming and laughing with joy, except Jaune who had a simple smile and was looking to a blonde man in the crowd that had a pridefully smile. Once their celebration was over, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang went to the stage.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiaolong. You four picked up the white queen and from this day onward you shall be known in this academy as team RWBY. Lead by; Ruby Rose!" 

The news surprised Ruby, who blushed a little while being hugged by Yang and cheered by Blake. On the crowd Qrow was clapping beside another blonde man, who was crying uncontrollably. Weiss was the only one not happy with the decision. 

"With all teams divided, it's time for the celebrations!" Ozpin said. Prompting everyone to go around the bars and celebrate. While that was going on, Ruby was sitting on a balcony outside, looking at her students license.

"Like mother like daughter right kid?" Qrow said as he entered the balcony

"Team leader, that's something! Do you think I'm ready, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"No. Not at all. You're still too damn loud and spend too much time on the clouds instead of on land." Qrow said, making Ruby feel sad for a moment

"But let me tell you a secret, nobody is ready! In the end we just have to go for it! No matter what! Believe me, I wasn't ready for anything in my life and look at me now! A teacher in Beacon with my niece as a team leader. I think I've accomplished some things!" Qrow said cheering her

"Any advice left for me?" Ruby asked with a sarcastic smile.

"Well, I've got a really good one. Ruby, you're really young and this is the beginning of an endless journey. But believe me it will all be worth it. Now, go conquer the world, kid. Just like your mother did!"

"Cinder! Smiling as always!" Roman said as Cinder opened her apartment door, she was clearly upset, but Roman didn't care about that as he entered her apartment with Neo behind him.

"You'll die before see me smile." Cinder responded

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed..." Roman said as he settled on the couch with Neo sitting beside him. 

"So where the wicked witch is?" Roman asked again before hearing the sound of a Seer Grimm arriving from Cinder's room. 

"We'll still communicate with her using the jellyfish from hell?" 

"Do you really think you are important enough to earn a face-to-face meeting with her? Don't overvalue yourself." Cinder responded as the Seer arrived in front of Roman and Neo. Finally, a voice came out of it

"Mister Torchwick! It's nice to see you..." Salem said in a tenderly creepy voice

"And it's nice to... hear you, queen of Grimms." 

"How are things going with your Dust project?" Salem asked

"Sadly, something slowed us down. It will take some time before I'll recover the amount of Dust lost." 

"I see. Does this 'something' have a name?" 

"I don't know her name, but now her mom's. The something is Summer Rose's daughter!"

"I'm aware of her existence. I assume Ozpin will use her the same way as he used her mother. That could be a problem. But don't worry, mister Torchwick, Cinder is in charge of... removing this splinter once and for all." Salem said

"Outside of that, how is your other plan going?" 

Roman smiled while picking up control of the TV.

"Pretty well!" He turned the TV on. It showed a Faunus racist group called "The Purifiers of Beasts" making a declaration reacting to several Dust robberies made by "Faunus."

"So, you chose them... Why?" Salem asked 

"Very simple. Their idiots! They believe Vale is the most welcoming city towards Faunus because it has the biggest Faunus population. If presented with the right plan, they would kill them all. And besides, the train will collide in the biggest Faunus's district" Roman responded confidently.

"I see. Did you contact their leader?" Salem asked

"Sadly, he's proven to be a hard man to reason with. But if the robberies escalate, they will hear our plans."

"I think robberies won't be enough. You know their associates in the city, correct?" Salem asked, making Roman uncomfortable again

"Yes, but i..."

"So, once you finish the robberies, you will kill them using your fancy costume. That will make them hear what you have to say."

"Yes, my lady. I will do that." Roman responded

"Good. Watts already made several advances with his part of the plan. Soon we'll show the world how vulnerable the kingdoms truly are." Salem said as she left the discussion 

"Always charming..." Roman said, trying to recover

"This will be your dorm room!" Tukson said after opening the door to a bedroom with four beds, two writing desks, and two huge wardrobes. Team RWBY was following behind him, with their luggage on their back.

"Where's the bathroom?" Weiss asked

"The bathrooms are at the end of the hallway. They're divided by gender. If you ever see someone peeping, tell one of us!" Tukson responded

"Thank you for guiding us, professor Tukson!" Ruby said

"You're welcome. I'll leave you girls to organize your dorm room." Tukson said as he left. Leaving the team there

"Alright, we have a lot to unpack, so the sooner we start, the better!" Ruby said, prompting everyone to start unpacking. 

Blake ended first because she only had some clothes and books with her. Ruby ended sometime after, with roughly the same amount of clothes and book as Blake's. Plus some tools and plans to build and improve weapons. 

Yang ended sometime after with more clothes than both Ruby and Blake combined. She also had some drink smuggled under the pile. But the one that took the most was Weiss. She had enough clothes to open a store plus another bag full of dust. 

"Ok, we won't be able to store all of those things. We will have to get rid of some things. Let's start with our clothes. Weiss..." Ruby said before being interrupted by Weiss

"No! No! No! All my clothes stay! ALL OF THEM!!!" 

"Weiss, you have ten different evening dresses!!! You can get rid of at least five!" Ruby responded

"They were made from the finest materials of all of the Remnant! They are not disposable garbage!"

"Your family has houses in the city, right?" Blake asked 

"Yes. So what?"

"Put the clothes you'll use the least there." Blake suggested

"I agree with Blake." Ruby responded

"So what don't we take a vote?" Weiss said, trying desperately to get Yang's support

"I agree with them too. That's way too many clothes! I myself will have to send some back home!" Yang said, making Weiss very desperate

"C'mon Weiss!" Ruby said, finally making Weiss give up. Most of Weiss's and half of Yang's clothes were packed again and separated to be delivered to their home. Books that Ruby and Blake had in common were also separated, with the ones in the best shape remaining with them.

Ruby's tools and Weiss's dust were sent to the gym, and after a lot of talking, Yang agreed on leaving her beverages in the dorms' kitchen. After that, organizing just became an issue as to who slept where.

Weiss wanted to sleep the furthest away from the window, and Blake wanted to sleep away from the ceiling fan. So Weiss ended up sleeping in the far right bed and Blake on the far left bed. With Ruby sleeping close to Weiss and Yang sleeping close to Blake. 

Once they figured out where they were sleeping, they organized the wardrobes accordingly. With Ruby and Weiss sharing the right wardrobe and writing desk, Yang and Blake share the left wardrobe and writing desk. Sometime after organizing their wardrobe, Ozpin came to see the girls.

"Everything alright, team RWBY?" Ozpin asked

"Yes, professor Ozpin." Ruby responded

"Good. I hope it remains that way. Although this paper might alter your mood for the day." Ozpin said, holding four papers with writings in it.

"What's that?" Ruby asked

"Your class time. I need you to answer which you girls want to go to as a team, a pair, and solo." Ozpin said, confusing the girls.

"Remember when I said your grades and classes would be determined by the teams? Well, to best simulate the feel of how being a huntsman is, you have to tackle each class in one of three ways, I already said. There are nine classes in total, so I believe the math is self explaining."

"Professor Ozpin?" Blake called

"Yes, Miss Belladonna."

"How will the pairs be divided?"

"That's simple. The pair will be the same as the ones in the test!" Ozpin responded, making Ruby and Weiss disheartened before leaving. 

The nine classes were: Huntsman Economy, First Aid, Crafting, Survival Skills, Grimm Studies, Physical Education, History, Geography, and Sociology. In the end, they divided in this order:

Ruby and Weiss alone: Huntsman Economy, Grimm Studies and Physical Education

Ruby and Weiss together: Survival Skills, Crafting and First Aid

Blake and Yang alone: First Aid, Survival Skills and Physical Education

Blake and Yang together: Huntsman Economy, Crafting and Grimm Studies

Team RWBY together: History, Geography, and Sociology

Describing like this would give the wrong impression that the division was easy, but especially for Ruby and Weiss, it wasn't. It was clear for everyone that it would take a long time before team RWBY started to act as a team

"No! No! This one goes here, and that one goes there!" Weiss screamed at Ruby during the first aid class. They were being taught how to remove a broken bone on the arm and keep the arm's movement. They were using a screaming robot with fake blood inside as a stand-in

"Quick! Give me your weapon!" Ruby responded

"What?! Why?!" 

"I need it to cut the bone with the aid of fire dust." 

"Ruby, that doesn't make any sense!"

"Do you have a better idea?" Ruby asked, losing patience

"As a matter of fact I..."

"Time's up!" said professor Mulberry, teacher of the first aid class. Most people had finished the procedure. Weiss and Ruby were the only pair not to.

"Class dismissed! Except for Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee." Mulberry said, prompting everyone to leave the class. 

Ruby and Weiss could hear some of them whispering things like "these two again? This is starting to become a joke!", "Didn't this happened in the crafting and survival classes as well?" and the one the hurt the most "They should just give up!"

"Girls, what seems to be the problem?" Mulberry asked, trying to empathize with the two

"The problem is I've been paired with a kid that doesn't know how to do anything! And to makes matters worse, she's my leader!" Weiss responded furiously

"The problem is that the ice queen over here doesn't respect anyone but herself! She believes to be better than everyone!" 

"I don't know if I'm better than everyone. But I know I'm better than you!" 

"If you are so better than me, why aren't you the leader?" Ruby asked 

"Because..."

"Girls! This isn't the problem I was talking about. I know you two are talented. Not only did you passed the test, but your individual grades are some of the best in all of Beacon. The problem isn't individual but collective." Mulberry interrupted

"Some people don't work together." Weiss responded

"The test shows that your girls do."

"The test was a fluke. I doubt we can repeat it anytime soon." Ruby said

"Well, you sure need to repeat the results of the test soon. Or else you will spend the rest of your time in Beacon reorganizing books in the library as a way to get credits you miss in class. You two are dismissed as well." Mulberry's words remained in Ruby and Weiss's head as the two made their way to the library, where Tukson was waiting 

"Good afternoon, girls! Today you'll be organizing the books in the F row." Tukson said while smiling

"Maybe this time we came just to read." Weiss said unexcited

"I would believe that if miss Rose came here with Blake, but she came with you, miss Schnee!" Tukson said, still smiling

"What Row again?" Weiss asked

Blake, Yang, and team JNPR were the only ones in the cafeteria, waiting for Ruby and Weiss's arrival. Yang was sleeping at the table, Nora was devouring pancakes. Blake was reading, Ren was meditating, Pyrrha was sharping her sword, and Jaune was just bored.

"Guys. We told you you shouldn't wait for us!" Ruby said as she entered the room

"The moment the two of you lunch alone, the cafeteria will explode." Nora said joyfully

"Or instead, freeze with Weiss cold attitude!" Ruby whispered to herself, but Weiss heard it

"Excuse me?!"

"Nothing..." Ruby said with a poker face

"Well, you're jealous of my greater skills!" Weiss whispered to herself, but Ruby heard it

"What?!"

"Nothing..." Weiss said with a poker face

"Good! You two arrived! We can finally eat." Yang said as she awake thanks to Ruby and Weiss's discussion

"Way ahead of ya!" Nora said as she finished the pancakes

Everyone picked up a plate and served themselves. The main topic was a recent History class where they learned more about the Great War, although some comments were made about Jaune's lack of results compared to his teammates. 

Ruby and Weiss did not make any comments, though. They ate quietly, reflecting on the words around the academy. Really doubting if they could become Huntress. However, the lunch was interrupted when Goodwitch came looking for team RWBY, prompting JNPR to leave.

"It came to my attention the lack of results some of your members are having as pairs." Goodwitch said, sinking Ruby and Weiss's hearts.

"I understand that adapting to a new environment may be... difficult. But you've long passed the adapting phase. So, I and professor Ozpin both made a decision..." Weiss and Ruby were ready to kneel and beg Goodwitch to not expelled them. 

"We assigned a veteran team to help you." Goodwitch completed. Surprising everyone.

"What team will be assigned to us?" Ruby asked, much more relieved

"Team CFVY. They will graduate at the end of the school year."

"When will we meet them?" Ruby asked

"Now." Goodwitch responded as team CFVY entered the cafeteria. The leader, Coco Adel, was confident. Behind her, Fox Alistair was trying to be discreet. Still, his odd look and menacing blank eyes made him intimidating to everyone.

Velvet Scarlatina would be much less notable than the rest of her teammates if it wasn't for her bunny ears. She seemed to be the nicest of the group. Besides her, Yatsuhashi Daichi's bulky physic combined with a confident smile made him look like the captain of some sport team.

"Are they the ones?" Coco asked, looking at team RWBY.

"Yes. We're counting on you." Goodwitch said as she left the cafeteria. Coco started to analyze the situation with team RWBY quiet, all looking for something to say until finally, Coco broke the ice

"Lunching after everyone else. This brings back some memories, right Fox?"

"Only if they were good memories..." Fox responded in a monotone voice

"Yeah. Now. I wish to talk with Ruby Rose. Which one of you is her?" Coco asked, making Ruby stand up in response

"Wow. How old are you, kid?" Coco asked.

"I'm 16" Ruby responded.

"Good lord, you're still underage" Weiss said, outraged

"Age is unimportant!" Ruby responded, angry

"With age comes wisdom! You should be the last one to lead a team!"

"And you should be the one? With your bossy attitude?!" Ruby said, prompting the two girls to start fighting again. 

"I think I found the problem." Fox whispered to Coco

"Yup. This will be... interesting." Coco whispered back to Fox. Meanwhile Blake and Yang were trying to calm the girls

"Alright. Rose, you and I are going for a walk. Fox and Schnee will stay here. The rest can go anywhere."

"So Rose, why you and Schnee don't get along?" Coco asked walking with Ruby in the school's park

"Have you seen her? She's a cold girl that think she's better then anyone else!" Ruby responded

"She's young and inexperienced. She throws herself in all sorts of dangerous things, and to make matters worse, Ozpin made the stupid decision to make her our leader!" Weiss responded to a similar question asked by Fox

"I see... But why do you think she acts the way she does?" Fox asked

"Probably something about her upbringing! That girl was probably raised as a spoiled brat in a fancy manor somewhere in Atlas, and thanks to that, she's now the insufferable jerk she now is!" Ruby responded

"Have you tried to talk with her about it?"

"Of course I did! But she doesn't listen. She believes in herself way too much to admite she's wrong about someone." Weiss said

"And I assumed you didn't gave her the oportunity to think otherwise." Fox said still monotone

"Excuse me?!" 

"You heard me. Your to blame for this situation as much as she. Your a problem just like her." Coco responded

"How?"

"You're too busy looking for the things she does wrong for one. You take her for granted for two, and perhaps the worst is this defensive wall you build." Fox responded

"I had to build my walls! You wouldn't understand!" Weiss said, angry

"But I do. Why do you think Goodwitch choose us to be your veterans? Because three years ago, I was having this conversation with another person. I was as dumb as you, but not as young. Which makes the things I did all the more embarrassing" Coco said, making Ruby stop to think a little before asking

"Who was your Weiss?"

"Coco. During the test, she was the one that killed the least Grimm, but Ozpin chose her as the leader. I wanted to be a leader just like my father, but I would understand if Yatsuhashi or even Velvet was chosen, not her thought. Choosing her was unforgivable in my eyes" Fox confessed

"Things between you two were as bad as they are with Ruby and me?"

"Worse"

"We fought both verbally and physically. It was the talk of the academy and made me doubt myself. Finally, Goodwitch assigned veterans to talk with us. It didn't resolve things immediately, but eventually, we started to understand each other. Now, he's the man of my life." Coco said

"So, you're dating?" Ruby asked

"Ha, Ha, Ha! No, Coco has eyes for no man in the academy. She's more like a sister today. I would die and kill for her, and she would probably do the same." Fox said

"I doubt Ruby and I will ever become like sisters." Weiss responded

"And there is it! You doubt both yourself and her. When is your next pair class?" Coco asked

"Tomorrow. A test in survival skills." Ruby responded

"So try to have more faith in her tomorrow! Ok?"

"I'll try, but i make no promises" Ruby and Weiss said 

"Don't try. Make it!" Coco and Fox said at the same time as they left the two girls alone with their thoughts.

"Cinder! Cinder! Cinder!" Torchwick said, knocking on Cinder's door late at night.

"There are better ways to commit suicide than to knock on my door screaming in the middle of the fucking night!" Cinder responded as she here opened the door with a spear in her hand and blood in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I need your help!" 

"This couldn't wait for tomorrow?!" Cinder asked, still furious

"Not really. We found a King Taijitu in the mountain! A powerful one about to evolve!" Torchwick responded

"So just kill it!"

"If we could, we would! But that thing is trapped in a place where the moment it dies, the entire cave falls with it. And the dust bullets aren't doing a thing! We need magic help from the wicked witch!"

"And where would the..." Cinder said before remembering the survival skills test the next day and smiling

"Now I know why you don't smile close to me!" Roman said, scared

"It'll do it, Roman. It'll do it." Cinder said to Roman before closing the door

"Alright, everyone! Today is your first survival skills test! In a lot of ways, it is similar to the admission test. You'll all be launched in the middle of the Emerald forest, and from there, you'll have to survive one of the worst nights of your life..." Qrow said before stopping to drink

"Tonight, the biggest storm of the year will happen. You have to find shelter and food in the forest for the storm and return here tomorrow at 10 AM. If you arrive half an hour earlier or later, you'll fail the test. Any questions? No? Good Luck!" Qrow said before launching everyone

Those that were going to do the test as pairs were launched by the same metal plate. Ruby and Weiss used the same method to land in Emerald Forest as before. But now they were together. The two walked for a while looking for a good shelter when they arrived where the totems were. They could see marks of their battle against the Deathstalker on the floor.

"Look. This is where I almost killed myself!" Ruby sarcastically happy said, pointing at ice marks on the floor where the ice dome was formed.

"Well, I helped a little." Weiss responded, joking a little. Before remembering the metal plates on the floor that the two used to get to the totems

"Ruby, I have an idea! You know where the metal plates?" Weiss asked

"Way ahead of ya!" Ruby said already above one. "Let's hope nobody had the same idea as us!" 

The two girls made their way to where the tower was. The big one was still destroyed, but a smaller one close to it was not. High ground in the case of a flood and away of a mountain in case of a landslide. The girls settled there.

"Now, we will need to hunt and gather water!" Weiss said

"Water will not be a problem. A small rain will probably come before the storm so we can gather it. Food meanwhile..." Ruby said.

"Don't worry. I can gather the water, and you can hunt. If you get lost, just call me." Weiss said.

"Ok. Wish me luck!" Ruby said before looking for prey. The local fauna had very few predators, so finding prey shouldn't be hard. But Ruby really struggled. Soon, the small rain started, making Ruby worried. Finally, she heard something.

"Fuck! We're lost!" a Male voice said 

"I told you to stay in the shelter! Now who cares about the food we gathered?!" another Male voice responded. Prompting Ruby to go talk with the two. As she saw the two men, she noticed they had a bag full of pray 

"Hello, you two are lost?!" 

"What do you think?" the first male said, angry

"Baltair, relax. I'm Daire, and this is..." 

"She already knows, idiot. And what do you want?!" Baltair asked

"I've heard you lost your shelter." Ruby said

"So what?" Baltair asked aggressively

"Dude, calm down! She might help us!" Daire said, trying to calm him down

"Yes... sure... But I doubt it will be for free!" 

"We have enough to share. You want for us to shelter together, right? If you lead us to your shelter, we'll share our food. Deal?" Daire said 

"Deal." Ruby responded before guiding the two back to the tower. Weiss already had collected some water, and she was about to boil it using fire dust.

"Weiss, we have guests!" Ruby screamed, making Daire stop walking

"Weiss? Weiss Schnee?" Daire asked, shocked

"Yes, are you two friends?" Ruby responded before Weiss saw the two boys. As she saw Daire, she started to panic. He meanwhile had a cynical smile on his face. 

"Hey! Schnee! I know you remember me! I am "unforgettably handsome" ain't I?" Daire said, making Weiss even more embarrassed, but she remained quiet.

"C'mon! You got to remember! I sure remember you. Your letters, your photos..." Daire continued, finally making Ruby and Baltair piece two and two together and realizing what was going on.

"Wait. She's the rich bimbo?!" Blatair asked

"Yes! Man, what a summer. She remained in my mind for a long time. Her photos were long excluded, though. Turns out she wasn't as hot as I initially thought. She has a very ugly back!" If this was any other person, Daire would already be punched, or she would already left.

But Weiss knew how to deal with these kinds of situations. If her father had a bad day in the company, he would arrive home screaming and humiliating everyone, including Weiss. Nobody dared to say anything back in case of retaliation, firing by the part of the staff, and more abuse for family members.

After a while, Weiss found a way to trap the bad feelings when someone started to do what Daire did, but the feeling was still there in her face. Deep down, she always hoped for someone to yell back, as she long lost that force.

"Weiss! Are you gonna let this prick say these things?!" Ruby asked, taking Weiss out of her state of mind. At first, she didn't say anything

"Let me tell you. Your friend is a bitch! I used to have the wildest photos! She was ready to have sex with me! Too bad someone found out about us. That didn't stop me from laughing at the entire ordeal. She was the most naive girl I met. As long as I said the right things, she would do it!" 

"You're a disgusting person. That's even if you are one!" Ruby responded

"And you are a dumb bitch if..."

"Listen up, Daire! You're pathetic. Five years is half a decade. That's enough to forget a 'bimbo.' So why didn't you moved on? Telling even recent friends cause I doubt you knew butt face over there before the test." Weiss said, confident.

"It was you..." Daire started to say

\- I'm not done! Yes, I was young and stupid, but that doesn't give you the justification to do what you did. But the real kicker is the fact you keep remembering me! You didn't move on. I cried for some time, but then I got over it. I forgot about your existence until you showed up. But you didn't forget about me. And do you know why? Because those pictures are the closest, you ever got to a naked woman. I'm thankful we didn't have sex, not because you're a worthless piece of shit, (although you are!), but because I know you couldn't satisfy anyone, let alone a woman like me. - Weiss said even more confident, making Daire feel embarrassed. Ruby was behind him meanwhile with a prideful smile.

"So, to you and your friend. Fuck off!" 

"F... Fine... We don't need you two to survive!" Daire said, trying and failing to look tough, before leaving. 

"That was something!" Ruby said, still smiling

"That was you. When you defended me, you awoke the sleeping giant inside me. Thank you, Ruby"

"You're welcome X 3" Ruby said still with a smile

"X 3?" Weiss asked, confused until noticing two rabbits Ruby stole from the boys while Weiss gave her speech. The two girls would spend the night talking about what happened while Daire and Baltair had to be rescued before the end of the test.

"C'mon! We only have ten minutes!" Weiss screamed as she sprinted with Ruby behind her. 

"Stupid Alarm! I..." Suddenly, a king Taijitu erupted from the floor. Splitting the two girls.

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed as the King Taijitu started chasing her throughout the forest.

"Go! I'll catch you later!" Ruby screamed. Prompting Weiss to run. Of course, Ruby wanted help, but she assumed Weiss would solve her own problems before solving anyone else. Like everyone around Ruby's life does.

Ruby knew how the creature worked, so no decapitating it. But maybe she could shoot it? No use. The bullets did nothing, even those with Dust. Noticing that, Ruby stopped to think, allowing King Taijitu to charge her. For one moment, everything looked over, but then...

"Just in time!" Weiss said, trying to catch her breath after freezing the king Taijitu's body. Surprising Ruby. 

"What now?" Ruby asked before noticing that the froze King Taijitu's body was shaking.

"Now you cut it in half!" Weiss said, trusting Ruby. Finally, King Taijitu charged at Ruby. With Weiss's glyphs' help, she managed to maintain a steady pose as she used Crescent Rose to slice the creature in half instead of decapitating it. As a result, it didn't regenerate.

"Now we need to hurry before..." Weiss said before hearing the sign that the test was over. The two girls failed again.

"Good afternoon! Oh my god, what happened to you two?" Tukson asked in the library

"We failed the survival test. Which row today?" Ruby asked, tired

"Today, you'll rest. Let me organize alone, go to your dorm rooms instead." Tukson responded. The two girls then went to their door rooms. There was no one there. So Ruby finally got the chance to ask Weiss

"Why did you come back?"

"Well, you were in danger!" Weiss responded

"Sure, but you could go find my uncle. That way, we might have passed the test, and you wouldn't put yourself in danger."

"When I saw you being chased. My grades went to the window. What mattered was my friend!" Weiss said

"Friend?" Ruby asked with a childish smile. 

"Yes. You're my friend Ruby! And I'm lucky to have you as my pair and leader!" 

"I'm the one lucky to have a friend like you!" Ruby responded with a big smile on her face

"I Won!" Ruby said in the middle of the first aid class. That day the assignment was to stop internal bleeding. A lot of people were having problems, but Ruby and Weiss finished much earlier than other pairs

As a result, the two played a game of "guess who" but with legendary huntsman from the past instead. Finally, Mulberry let the two girls go. On the way out, they heard whisperers from the other students.

"These two again? Can they do no wrong" or "Aren't they the best in crafting and survival skills?" but the one that filled the girls with pride was "They were made to be huntsman!" 

"Yang... Yang..." Blake whispered, trying to wake up Yang subtly, but to no use. Finally, professor Greene noticed Yang sleeping.

"Mis Xiaolong!!!" She said while hitting the table where Yang was sleeping, waking and scaring her.

"I assume you must know quite a lot about Huntsman Economy for you to be sleeping in my class!" Greene said in an intimidating way. Blake was quite embarrassed, but Yang kept determined.

"I'm familiar with a thing or two. My dad and uncle are huntsmen!" She responded

"I see... If you're familiar with 'a thing or two,' then tell me; What contract is better, killing a nevermore for 10000 liens or guarding a councilman for 5000 liens?" Greene asked. At first, Yang didn't say anything, and professor Greene was about to give a big lecture about the whole situation when...

"They're both the same! The nevermore is a difficult Grimm to kill, so logic dictates that it will be one of the most expensive contracts. The Councilman is also pretty hard, but not as hard, and it should have a reward of at least 50% smaller than the Nevermore one!" Yang yelled, turning the entire class quiet and infuriating Greene.

She had no choice but to continue with the class, but nobody paid attention. Everyone was instead looking at the table where Blake and Yang sat, which Blake found uncomfortable.

The Huntsman Economy class was the last of the day, so after it, the students would go to the cafeteria to have dinner before leaving their dorm rooms. Teams JNPR and RWBY sat together, with what happened at the class being the top discussion of the day.

"Yang is so good she learns while she sleeps!" Nora said in an over the top way

"Or... she already knew before coming to class" Ren tried to bring it back to earth

"That's not as fun!" Nora protested.

"This is not supposed to be fun! Even if Yang knew, she should not sleep in the middle of the class! I mean, Ruby and I both learned a lot about making weapons or dust cases before coming to Beacon, but we don't sleep during Crafting classes!" Weiss commented.

"I think we should hear what the girl responsible for this... has to say..." Ruby said before noticing Yang was sleeping again.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Yang! Wake Up!" Weiss screamed, waking her up.

"Wow! Her sleeping problem is worse than Jaune's grades!" Nora commented, upsetting Jaune a little.

"Ruby, please control your sister!" Weiss said, frustrated

"Trust me, I gave up a long time ago!" Ruby said while staring at Yang.

"Relax, everyone! My grades are still fine." Yang commented, trying to get everyone calm

"By a thread..." Blake responded, breaking her silence.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. So far, it is working, and in the moment it stops working, I'll stop doing it!" Yang said again.

"You promise that?" Ruby asked

"I promise!" Yang said, getting up after finishing and leaving the table to go back to the dorms.

"You think this will happen again?" Weiss asked

"Probably yes..." Ruby responded

"Well, if it's working for her..." Jaune commented

"We're here to do our best as huntsmen. If this is her best, then she won't make a good one..." Pyrrha commented, making Blake think more about the situation

It was 2 AM when Yang left the dorm room. She was wearing her casual clothes and had Ember Celica in her hands. At first, she thought nobody was awake, but soon she noticed that Blake was also awake and looking at her.

"Where are you going?" Blake asked

"To have fun! If you want, you can come too!" 

"That depends. Is this "fun" the cause of your sleeping problems?"

"I consider that more of a side effect..." Yang said, trying to dodge that bullet

"Yang, I don't like that side effect. That makes people talk..."

"I don't give a shit about people's talk! And neither should you!" Yang said, kind of angry

"I just... don't want any attention." Blake said

"Trust me, you won't have any. Unless you're underage..."

"Where are you going?" Blake asked again

"To a lovely bar in downtown Vale. The owner is a friend and owns me one, and he will pay with booze!"

"I'll pass, I'm not much of a drinker..."

"Don't worry, they serve soda too! Besides, drinking is much more fun when we have someone to talk to..." Yang said, trying to convince Blake.

"We will be back before sundown!" Blake said as she went to get changed, to the delight of Yang.

So here is the thing; Beacon is in an artificial mountain with several caves on the side of it. One of those caves was an old boarding zone replaced by the bigger one in a reformation. However, the old boarding zone is still functional. 

So every night, students from Beacon (like Yang) use it to leave the academy and go to the city to have fun during the night. The cave's entrance was just behind the dorm room, so finding it wasn't a problem.

In it, there was a guard named Gilbert Wilkins. He looked just a little older than the girls and had imposing physic and some scars on his face. Blake was hoping that he would stop them, but...

"Bert, I'm going down." Yang said.

"Sure. See you later, Yang..." Gilbert responded as the two girls made their way to a flying cab waiting for them.

They went to a bar called "Last Night's Remnants." As Yang said, the owner was a friend, and he gave both girls a free drink. Yang ordered beer and Blake water. The two sat on a small table close to the door.

"Did you ever drink in your life?" Yang asked, waiting for the drinks to arrive

"I used to drink something back home, but I never found it anywhere."

"What's the name?"

"Barking dog. They are divided into colors. I always loved the Blue Barking Dog."

"Barking dog, right? Stevens!" Yang shouted.

"Tell me, blond!" The waiter responded

"Do you have any Barking dogs in the house tonight?" Yang asked

"The drink? We have three; Green, Purple, and Orange." The eyes of Blake glowed when she heard that.

"What would you like, Blake?"

"All of them!" Blake responded, still in disbelief she would drink one again.

"She wants to forget this night!" Stevens said before going to pick the drinks. And as soon as that happened, a surprise guest showed up.

"Blake, Yang!" Velvet said as she saw the girls sitting.

"Velvet, girl! Get over here!" Yang shouted, prompting Velvet to go sit with them.

This situation was scary for Blake. On the one hand, she would have an opportunity to talk with the only other Faunus on Beacon, but she was afraid to expose to Yang who she was.

"What brings you here?" Yang asked

"A Nightcap. I heard this place served Barking dogs, so I came to check out!"

"You arrived just in time then!" Yang said

"Why?" Velvet asked before the waiter arrived with one can of beer, a water bottle, and three glasses of Barking Dog. One Green, another Purple, and the last one orange.

"Wow, Blake! You sure love these. I can't blame you!" Velvet said joyfully

"What makes you think Blake was the one that ordered them?" Yang asked innocently, but that little question made Blake almost choke . Velvet accidentally almost told Blake's secret, but the third member of team RWBY acted quick.

"It's because Velvet and I came from the same place." At first, Velvet was confused until she realized what Blake was doing and went along.

"What a coincidence! You two came from the same place and went to the same academy in a different city! What are the odds?!" Yang playfully asked, unaware of the real situation. Soon a hit song started playing, and Yang went dancing to it. Leaving the other two alone to talk.

"So, they don't know?" Velvet asked

"No." Blake responded, embarrassed.

"Who does?"

"You and Tukson. And I would like to keep it that way. I don't know if they are sympathetic to us." Blake Said referring to her team teammates

"Look, you do you, ok. I think hiding who you really are is not healthy, but if that's what you want to do, I'll respect you." Velvet said, reassuring

"Thanks." Blake said, relieved

"But why would a cat Faunus want to become a Huntress?" Velvet asked

"I just wanted a fresh start after some stuff that happened. Tukson is an old friend, so he got me one at Beacon. Since the Huntsman academy are the places with the least amount of racism..."

"If only this was true..." Velvet said, full of regret, surprising Blake

"Did you ever heard of 'animal work, human glory'?" Velvet asked. In response, Blake said no with her head.

"It's a thing that happens. The contractor needs to authorize the huntsman's work. If he chooses, he can refuse a huntsman, and many people refuse Faunus Huntsman. Noticing that, Human Huntsman decided to make a deal with those Faunus. Humans would accept the contract and get a share of the reward, and the Faunus would do the hard work." Velvet said, shocking Blake.

"Sometimes the share was reasonable, but most of the times the human huntsman would use a desperate Faunus to do the job and give them almost nothing..." Velvet said, finishing the orange Barking Dog

"That's terrible! Why do the headmasters allow these things to happen?!" Blake asked, outraged.

"Because they can't do anything! They need the contract money to keep the huntsman working."

"So why do you want to become a huntress?" Blake asked

"Because that's my dream, and I don't care about anyone's prejudices"

Velvet's words became food for Blake's brain. Soon Yang arrived from the dance floor and finished the drink. They would be stuck on this loop of drinking and dancing for some time until Blake bumped into a familiar guy.

"Hey! It's that chick! The one that attacked me!" Blake immediately recognized the voice. It was one of the guys that were harassing the pig Faunus. But now, he was with a group of friends.

"What? Why did you do that, Blake?" Yang asked

"Because this guy is an asshole." Blake said, tired

"Now you don't have that weird weapon of yours!" the guy said, clearly looking for a fight.

"But I have mine..." Yang said, showing Ember Celica

"That's not your business... fuck off" the guy responded

"And it isn't your friends, but they will get evolved." Yang complemented, tensing up the room

"Yang, a fight will probably break out. I would be glad if you weren't evolved..." Blake whispered

"And leave the fun for you?" Yang responded. And as soon as the words left her mouth, the fight began.

The first guy threw a bottle at Blake, who dodged using shadow and kicked the guy's gut as a counter. One of the friends saw that as an opportunity to punch Blake, but before he could do it, Yang punched him in the face, making him fly and break a close table.

Wasting no time, Yang jumped above him to see if he was still conscious. When she noticed that he was, she gave the knockout punch. Meanwhile, the guy that started everything, plus three others, were attacking Blake.

Blake was dodging and countering them, but they were attacking in quick succession. Therefore, she couldn't give a more powerful punch or kick. Noticing her trouble, Yang picked one of the guys and launched him to the street.

"Need a hand?" Yang asked

"Always welcome!" Blake responded. The two then proceeded to wipe the floor with every guy that attacked them, but they ruined the bar in the process. When the fight was over, the bar owner went to talk with the two.

"Yang! What the fuck is that?!" The owner said, furious

"They started it, Kaspar..." Yang said, trying to dodge the responsibilities.

"I don't care! If you got evolved in a fight, make sure to take it outside! My bar is in ruins. It will take days before it's fixed! Yang, I..."

"...don't want to see you at my bar for the next month! I know. I know. Sorry for the mess. C'mon Blake, let's get back to Beacon." Yang said, leaving the place with Blake. Both had, however, forgotten of the guy Yang tossed out the window.

He was waiting there to ambush them with a small gun. Luckily, Blake noticed the guy and knocked him out. But before that happened, he ended up shooting Blake's bow out, revealing her cat ears to Yang.

"You're a... Faunus!" Yang said, shocked. For one moment, Blake thought it was over, that she was just like the men, but...

"That's so cool!!! I have a teammate, Faunus! Oh my god, what cat abilities do you have?" Yang asked like a little boy asking for an autograph of his hero. That tone was a welcome surprise for Blake, who almost cried for it.

"I can see, hear, and smell better. Being half-cat, I can also climb better." Blake responded, being proud of being a Faunus for the first in a while.

"Oh my god! I have a Faunus friend! I have a Faunus friend!!! I'm invincible!!!" Yang shouted

"Shut up, crazy brat!" an old man screamed from one building.

"You shut up!" Yang responded, making Blake laugh a bit.

"Why didn't you told us?" Yang asked calmly at last.

"Let's Just Say I did some things in my past. I wanted a fresh beginning, and Beacon was that. That's all you need to know." Blake said after a small pause while putting her bow back

"Ok. But hey, I think you're prettier without the bow. Those cat ears are lovely." Yang said, making Blake blush a little.

"You two took some time!" Gilbert said when the girls arrived.

"What can we say? The night is young, and so are we!" Yang responded with joy. 

"That was fun, right?" Yang asked to Blake

"Yes, it was..."

"Want to come with me tomorrow? I'll go to this dance club called 'The dancing Huntsman'."

"Well, do they serve Barking Dogs?"

"All right, class! I'll now give you your grades in Grimm studies!" Oobleck said hyperactive as always. Prompting a lot of sweat by the majority of Students. 

"Ruby Rose, you excelled in my class once more. Your mother would be delighted!" Oobleck said, calmer and smiling while giving Ruby her test with a perfect grade. Oobleck continued to provide the tests, and there were little to no surprises. For good and for bad...

"Jaune Arc, here's your test..." Oobleck said, noticeably displeased as he gave Jaune his grade. Jaune then quickly hid the paper in his backpack so that nobody would see it.

"I wish to talk with you at the end of the class, mister Arc..." Oobleck whispered to Jaune before returning to the class. 

But nobody was paying real attention. They were instead more focused on talking about how the leader of the best team of the Beacon's freshman class, once more, underperformed. When the class ended, Jaune stayed in class to have his talk with Oobleck.

"What seems to be the problem, mister Arc?"

"I don't know. I promise the next test will be better!" 

"That's what you said before. If you continue like this, you will pass. But eventually, the gap between you and your teammates will be too big for you to reach..." Oobleck said, worried about the things other students were saying.

"That won't happen..." Jaune responded as he left. His team were waiting for him in the hallway

"Guys, you shouldn't..."

"We should! As for you, you will stick your nose in a book!" Pyrrha said as he left the class. The team then went to the cafeteria. Where they sat with Team RWBY as they always do.

"Another perfect grade for the perfect leader!" Ruby said pridefully as she waved the test in her hand

"Oh yeah. As perfect as Blake and Yang's sleeping routine." Weiss responded sarcastically while pointing at Blake and Yang. Blake was still awake but barely. Yang, however, was already in dreamland.

"You're just jealous of my perfect grade!" 

"Not as perfect as my outstanding Huntsman Economy grade!" Weiss said, trying directly to compete with Ruby.

"Guys. I think it would be better if we talked about something else..." Pyrrha said, pointing at Jaune, who was quietly eating.

"Don't worry, guys! I'm not bothered by it!" Jaune said while smiling

"Somehow, I doubt it..." Nora said

"I'm fine! I swear! Look, some people are commenting on somethings, so what?! I don't care, and neither should you!" Jaune said, kind of angry

"It's ok to fail, Jaune. We all have our bad times..." Pyrrha started to say before being interrupted by Jaune

"THIS ISN'T ONE OF MINES!!!" Everyone on the table went silent and locked eyes with him. Ashamed, Jaune picked up his food and left the cafeteria. Pyrrha tried to talk with him, but all he did was say "I'm sorry" repeatedly.

"So that's a problem!" Nora said when Pyrrha returned to their table

"I know. But how are we going to fix it? How can we make Jaune feel good about himself?" Pyrrha said

"The answer is kind of obvious. By improving his grades." 

"That's easier said than done!" Nora said, doubting that would work

"Why do you say that?" Ruby asked

"Because Jaune spends most of his time reading the grade books! Hell, he probably knows about things we didn't learn yet!" Nora responded

"Well, it's clear that approach isn't working..." Weiss commented

"Yeah, so what do you suggest?!" Pyrrha said, losing her patience before apologizing like Jaune before her. Resulting in a quiet table for a while until Ruby had a light bulb moment

"What about a veteran?!" Ruby suggest happily

"I don't know... Professor Ozpin probably wouldn't give us one with our grades as a whole." Pyrrha said, unsure

"Maybe. But we haven't seen any veterans helping other teams, so there's probably one left for us. Besides, it might be what Jaune is missing. He's already smart, so he probably just needs someone to lead him in the right direction." Ren said calmly

"That might work! We will go to Ozpin as soon as we finish lunch, right team?" Pyrrha said right before seeing Ren and Nora nodding 

"A Veteran? But your team is already strong! I don't see what a veteran team could do to improve you even more." Ozpin said after hearing Pyrrha's proposition

"We don't need an entire team, sir. We just need one guy to help Jaune. He's... not doing so well." Pyrrha responded

"I understand. Well, luckily for you, the demand for veterans isn't high. So we'll give you a team to help mister Arc." Ozpin said softly

"Thank you, sir!" Pyrrha responded, barely containing her happiness.

"It's this the right place?!" Nora asked, bored while waiting for the veterans to show up. 

"Nora, we are five minutes behind on the time set by professor Ozpin. They are still on schedule." Ren said while relaxing under a tree. Pyrrha, meanwhile, was walking around in circles, anxious about the situation.

Finally, they saw three men wearing armor approach. Everyone got up to greet them, but before they could...

"Unacceptable" one man with long gray hair and blue eyes said while looking at Pyrrha

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha asked, confused

"Your armor! It fails to protect the two most important internal organs and slows you down!" The man retorted, making Pyrrha feel a little uncomfortable.

"And you!" the man was pointing at Nora

"Me?" Nora asked, confused

"No, Santa Claus! Of course, it is you. Look at you! That resting posture is terrible! If someone attacked you right now, you would be killed in a heartbeat!" the man said, still angry.

"Who would attack me? Beacon is the safest place in all of Vale!" Nora said, outraged, before barely dodging and falling after a surprise attack by the man.

"Anything is possible!" the man patronizingly said as Nora got up, which made her angry. She was about to yell at the man when he suddenly had his eyes set on Ren's weapon.

"Good Heavens! What is this?!" the man asked

"That's my weapon, StormFlower." Ren said, confused

"Your 'weapon' is trash! It's too small to do any significant damage unless you apply a lot of force. You could kill ten Grimms with a regular sword using the same power you use to kill one with that weapon!" the man said, still outraged, but Ren seemed not to care that much about what he was saying

"If you were dragged to an actual huntsman contract, you wouldn't last a minute! Thank god we..." 

"Relax, Sky! Guys, I thought I asked you to control him" a man with short brown hair also using armor said in a relaxing way

"You try to calm him down. That is something I would like to see." a man with a blonde, almost white, Mohawk, wearing a simple green shirt with a spiked shoulder pad on his left side, said in a monotone, practically sarcastic way.

"Carden. Do you see these fools?! They are..." Sky said before being interrupted by Carden

"Rookies, Sky. Rookies. And much better ones than we were. So why won't you let me handle this?" Carden said still in his relaxed tone as he approached the present members of Team JNPR

"Sorry I'm late. I was researching somethings about your team..."

"and the physiology of rabbits! - The Mohawk one said sarcastically, angering Carden a little.

"Ignore him... He fell out of bed in the hospital when he was born." Carden responded in a mix of sarcasm and anger

"So, your team leader isn't performing, right?" 

"We don't know why! He's one of the smartest men I know, but he still unperformed!" Pyrrha said 

"Intelligence doesn't always translate into grades. But I need more information, how does he study?" Carden asked

"Like everyone else. Not only that, but he actually helps me when I'm having a problem with the subject!" Nora said 

"Wait, what?!" Pyrrha asked

"Yes. I was having a hard time understanding the physiology of Beowolfs. Still, Jaune managed to explain to me and gave me a way to memorize it." Nora said, confused with Pyrrha's reaction

"Wait, half of Oobleck's test was about a Beowolf's physiology! So he knew everything about it and nothing about Nevermores?!" Pyrrha asked, confused

"That's doesn't seem right. I was having problems with Nevermores, and he helped me. He probably knows a lot about it as well." Ren said still calm, but visibly confused. 

"Maybe he's stressed under pressure..." Carden suggested

"If he is, then it's only when he's alone. When we do tests together, he's always as calm as Ren, if not more!" Pyrrha said

"Then there's only one explanation; he's self-sabotaging." Carden said conclusively

"What?! Why would he do that?" Nora asked in a high pitched way

"There's only one way to find out!" 

Jaune came as soon as he read Nora's message. He was running and barely could catch his breath when he arrived where Carden is. Carden himself was discretely looking towards a bush near the tree where the meeting would take place

"Where's she?!" Jaune asked, barely containing his breath

"In the infirmary with Ren and Nora. She's hurt, but she'll make it." Carden said calmly

"Oh, thank god! What was she thinking?! Invading Oobleck's office! That place is crawling with Grimm!!!" Jaune said, still in disbelief over what has happened

"I guess she wanted to help with your grades, using whatever means possible..."

"I don't need help with my grades! They are precisely the way they should be!!!" 

"Well, as their leader, you should have known what would have happened." Carden said. 

Prompting Sky to leap off the bush, shooting an arrow at Jaune. He easily dodged and countered by using his semblance to drain all of his Aura, catalyzing it in his fist so that he could punch him in the face. Sky was knocked out immediately

"Sky!!!" Carden screamed as he went to see his friend, before being stopped by Jaune's sword pointed at his neck

\- Why did you ambush me? - Jaune asked menacingly

\- I should be the one asking things. Like; 'How you managed to so effortlessly knock out a fourth grade Beacon student if you can barely pass the Physical Education test?' - Carden counter asked. Making Jaune uneasy, especially when he noticed his team watching everything from behind a building

"But I think you already know the answer" Carden said, pointing the sword in the other direction as he picked up the knocked-out Sky from the floor. 

"I'll tell Ozpin you don't need a veteran." Carden said to Pyrrha as she made her way towards Jaune. He was very nervous. 

"Jaune, explain!" Pyrrha angrily demanded. Prompting him to sit on a close bench, stay silent for a while and finally start talking

"The Arcs are unique. Our semblance is passed from generation to generation, and the strength of our semblance improves with the newest. But that only happens to male Arcs. And a male Arc is born once in a generation. My Grandfather and Father spent their lives being some of the most famous huntsman in the world, so logic dictates I should as well. After all, ain't my version of the semblance the strongest one yet?"

"Well..."

"Rhetorical question, Nora" Ren said, interrupting Nora

"So, ever since I could remember, I've been training and learning to be a Huntsman, including things they don't teach in the Academies. All the while, people talked about how I was a prodigy. Meant to do GREAT THINGS! But not once, not a SINGLE FUCKING TIME they asked 'Is this what you want?!'" Jaune said, full of anger and bitterness

"Is it?!" Pyrrha asked

"I don't know! Nobody ever gave me another option! Nobody said I could be a doctor, a lawyer, an artist, or a goddamn musician!!! They always said the same thing: 'You'll be one of the greatest huntsman of your generation!' So I'll prove them wrong. I'll barely pass every test I take and only work to make enough money to build a house in the middle of nowhere and then disappear. Ending the Great Arc Legacy!!!" Jaune said, determined, making everyone silent for a while.

"But what about us?" Nora asked innocently

"What?" Jaune asked, surprised

"You're our friend! Our Leader! We're the best freshman team because of you! I always believed that you'll be there to help us. Even after we graduate. I can't see myself being as good as I am without out." Nora said, showing vulnerability for the first time since they arrived at Beacon.

"She's not the only one..." Pyrrha complemented. Ren said nothing, but his eyes said everything.

"Guys... I'm sorry. But you are great! I'm confident you can do just as good without me." Jaune said, trying to cheer them up. But doing that only revealed how much they depended on one another

And for the first time, Jaune wondered about his goal. Living alone, isolated, while people needed help. Jaune realized how selfish that was. Yes, he didn't ask for it. But he had a responsibility with the world. 

"When life gives you lemons... Ain't that a bitch?" Jaune said, breaking the silence and making everyone look at him.

"The Arc legacy will end with me. I won't make efforts to have a male son, and if I do, I'll let him do whatever he wants with his life. But I'll make sure that the ending will be one for the history books! That's if you help me..." Jaune said, making everyone smile

"That depends. Will I ride any Grimm?!" Nora asked back in her usual self

"I wouldn't want it in any other way!" Jaune said. Prompting Nora to hug him, followed by Pyrrha and then Ren after a lot of convincing.

"One more thing. I don't promise any improvements in my grade. I'll stop choosing the wrong answer on purpose, but I won't study anymore. I learned enough about being a Huntsman for one life. I mean, I only came to Beacon to get my license!" Jaune said 

"Well, will you handle the whispers around the academy?" Pyrrha asked

"I already do, if they are made by unknown people..." 

"Mister Arc, your grades have improved, but they are not on the same level as your team just yet. Keep at it! - Oobleck said, giving Jaune the results of the new test

"Actually, professor. I'm ok with the way they are..." Jaune said confidently as he looked to his team

Ruby was nervous. She was never called to the principal's office in any academy she attended. Weiss, meanwhile, was furiously walking around Yang and Blake. Yang seemed not to care, and Blake was nervous but not as nervous as Ruby.

"What did you do?!" Weiss asked furiously

"A ton of things. But not enough to send us to the principal's office." Yang responded calmly

"You know that's not true" Blake whispered on Yang's hear

"Yeah, but they don't. Besides, why would we be the ones to be caught if a lot of people leave Beacon in the night?" Yang whispered back.

"What's with the whispers?!" Weiss asked 

"Nothing!" Yang responded nervously.

"Your 'nothing' is what's sending us to Ozpin's office!" Weiss said before turning to Ruby "Ruby, why aren't you saying anything?!" 

"I'm done! I'm done! Dad's gonna kill me! Dad's gonna kill me!!!" R

"Congratulations. You broke your sister!" Weiss said as the elevator stopped on top of Beacon tower. As soon as the elevator opened, Ruby started to tearfully beg

"Please, Sir! It wasn't their fault! I'm to blame!!! Leave them alone!!!"

"Relax, Ruby, none of you are in any kind of trouble." Ozpin said, reassuring. 

"We aren't?!" Yang asked, relieved

"No. I called you to discuss another matter entirely." Ozpin said as he pressed the button. Revealing in the window behind him a poster for the Vytal festival. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss's eyes glowed, but Blake didn't seem to share their enthusiasm

"I'm sure you girls would love to take part in the tournament. We are here to talk about your enrollment."

"What do we need to take part?" Ruby asked

"Well, the four of you need to sign a contract, for one" Ozpin said, handing to team RWBY a paper. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss signed right away. But Blake didn't want to sign. 

"What's the matter, miss Belladonna?" Ozpin asked

"Well, I don't like the amount of attention the tournament brings." Blake said

"I understand. But you must know, the tournament was made with a lot of objectives. One of them was to simulate the competition between Huntsman of different Academies. Most successful Huntsmen of today participated in it in the past." Ozpin words made Blake reflect a little before she finally signed

"Excellent. Now to your tasks!"

"Tasks?!" The girls asked at the same time.

"That's right. The host academy's competing teams are responsible for several different tasks to help prepare for the festival. The tasks are also determined by your grades..."

Ozpin said, looking to a nervous Yang. Weiss was also looking at her, clearly angry.

"And what is our task?!" Weiss asked, barely holding her fury.

"Fuck you Yang!!!" Weiss said furiously as team Ruby made their way to clean the Silver Huntsman square. Where several activities would be held. 

"Two points... We were two points behind showing the academy to the other students. TWO POINTS!!! If you wasn't so busy doing what you do at night, we would be in heaven!!!"

"Relax, Weiss. It's like you never cleaned... oh!" Weiss almost punched Yang before Ruby intervened

"Ok. Ok. Things aren't exactly easy for us, but look on the bright side, at least team JNPR has less work to do!"

Pyrrha was nervous as she walked to the ship were several of Atlas's students were. She knew several of them thanks to the Mantle Olympics. Team JNPR tried their best to calm her down but to no response. Finally, the doors of the ship were opened.

"Good Morning! My name is Jaune Arc, and I'm the leader of Team JNPR. We''ll show you where your dorms are and provide the answer to any question you may have!" Jaune said happily. 

Only the students that would take part in the tournament came. The other students and the remaining Atlas personnel would come after the vacation. As Jaune showed them the academy, a redhead girl was looking at Pyrrha with admiration.

"Can I help you with something?" Pyrrha asked the girl.

"That depends. Are you Pyrrha Nikos? 21, Four Times winner of the Mantle Olympics and known as 'protector of Argus'?" the girl asked joyfully.

"Wow, you sure know a lot about me!" 

"Wonderful! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Penny Ironwood, and I wish to be your apprentice!" Penny said, still in her joyful mood. 

"I'm sorry?!" Pyrrha asked, baffled

"You see. One day I'll become the 'Protector of Mantle.' So I wish to be trained by someone that's already a protector!"

"Ok... Well, I'm kind of busy right now, maybe later!" 

"According to the Beacon schedule, after your team ends the Beacon tour, you will have at least one hour of free time. So can we train then?"

"How do you... Ok, Penny, right? I promise you a sparing section after the tour. If you manage to impress me, I'll become your master. Deal?" Pyrrha said, prompting Penny and them to handshake. As promised, both of them went to spar on Beacon's Gymnasium. 

"On my mark, you will attack me with everything you got." Pyrrha said, expecting a comfortable victory. However, when the fight began, Penny flew towards Pyrrha, who barely dodged. Pyrrha was breathless for a moment. She had never seen anyone as fast as Penny.

Penny, however, gave Pyrrha no time to waste. Soon she saw several swords levitating behind Penny. The latter, with one hand motion, made all of them fly to Pyrrha's direction. She used her shield to block. The strength of the impact alone almost knocked her to the floor.

However, that attack proved to be the key to Penny's defeat. As Pyrrha saw that the blades weren't just floating. But were instead connected to Penny through wire cables. Noticing that, she fooled Penny by intentionally leaving herself open to another attack. 

But as Penny went for it with her weapon, Pyrrha used polarity to disconnect all of Penny's sword, disarming her. Finally, Pyrrha kicked Penny in the chest. Knocking her out of the arena and finishing the fight. 

"So, did I impress you?" Penny asked a breathless Pyrrha

"You sure did... Oh god! I didn't have a fight like this in ages! There's still a lot to improve on. But you on the right path! I would be honored to teach you everything I know!"

Pyrrha's response made Penny jump in the air with excitement. The two girls then went to a park where Pyrrha would start to train Penny.

"Fighting wise, you're almost perfect. But I haven't seen how good you are with helping people. So let's see how good you're with that." Pyrrha said, guiding Penny's eyes to a Cat stuck in a tree. Penny, however, did nothing.

"What are you waiting for? Save the cat!" Pyrrha said 

"But he's not in any danger of distress. It seems like he's comfortable being in the tree" Penny responded, confused

"I know he is! That's just... Wait, how do you know?"

"I can read his heartbeats. He seemed relaxed!"

"That's your semblance?" Pyrrha asked 

"Yes... My semblance!" Penny asked, trying to cover her secret

"So, is there anyone in danger or distress?" Pyrrha asked. Prompting Penny to scan the entire city. Making her noticed four people in the same regions, all in some kind of distress.

"I think I found something!" Penny said in a eureka moment.

"Alright. Don't come on too strong, analyze the situation before..." Pyrrha said before noticing that Penny had already left.

"We're almost done! C'mon Weiss! A long hot shower awaits you!!!" the square was evenly divided among the four girls. Ruby was the first to end it, and right after it, she went to see a statue of her mom in the center of the square.

"Who's that?" Blake asked when she finished. 

"That's Summer Rose. The Silver Huntsman. One of the greatest ever. And my mom..." Ruby said in a tone that was a mix of pride and sadness.

"She seems pretty cool!" Blake said 

"She was..." Ruby said, looking at the text under the statue. "To the bravest of them all. May you find peace wherever you are." 

"I'm sorry... I'm sure she was a great mom!" Blake said, making Ruby smile a little.

"And I'm done! The square is the cleanest it has ever been! Now let's..." Weiss said before hearing a scream. 

The four girls went in the direction only to find the body of a man wearing a business suit with a Schnee Dust Company pin on the chest. There was a stab wound on his belly. A crowd was forming around the body. With some officers stopping anyone from getting close

"Everyone, please stay calm. A detective is on his way! Now please leave the area." one officer said

"I saw a masked person with a tail leaving the area." A witness said to an officer collecting testimonies. Weiss, hearing that, clenched her teeth in anger.

"The White Fang..." she said. Prompting the rest of team RWBY to look at her. Blake was especially curious.

"Those animals are the worst! I hope they all end up in jail for what they have done!" Weiss said bitter

"I'm sorry?" Blake asked outraged

"What. Do you approve of the senseless killing of an innocent man? They want to exterminate the Human race!"

"They want equal rights to the Faunus!" 

"The Faunus are already given the same opportunity as the others! Of course, they're still some racists out there, but they are the exception!"

"That's a lie, Weiss! You should..."

"Salutations! - Penny said. Startling everyone a little.

"Who are you?" Weiss asked

"My name is Penny Ironwood. I noticed a high level of stress coming from here, and so I decided to check out. It seems someone was murdered!" Pyrrha said, still joyful

"Right... Listen, we don't know what happened, so if you want to find out, you'll have to wait for the detective!" Weiss said, inpatient

"We don't need to wait." Penny said. Soon her eyes started to glow a little as she scanned the body of dead men. Finally, she had a result.

"His name was Swen Gessler. He was the PR manager of the Schnee Dust Company Vale Branch. He was 45, had two kids, and was divorced. Bleed to death thanks to several stabs on his stomach region."

"How did you..." Weiss started to ask before being interrupted by Ruby

"That's amazing!!! Oh my god, you're so cool! Where did you come from, Penny?"

"I'm from Atlas! I'm gonna take part in the Vytal festival! Now, if you excuse me, I must report my findings to the police!" Penny said, making her way towards a cop. Blake, Yang, and Weiss were looking at her, confused. But Ruby was looking at her smiling.

"I think I'm in love..." Ruby said as she made her way towards Penny to find more about her.

"Swen Glesser? I know him! He used to work for dad in Atlas." Weiss said

"Did he ever done anything that would make someone want him dead?" Yang asked.

"As far as I can tell, he was just a regular employer. But for those animals, that's more than enough to give you a death sentence!" Weiss said, bitter.

"Stop it! They aren't animals! They are people like you and me!" Blake demanded

"As far as I'm concerned, only animals do that. If they were one day people like you and me, that was before they joined the Fang!" Weiss said, making her way back to Beacon. Blake went after arguing with her. Meanwhile, Ruby was just looking at Penny as she said everything to the officer.

"Hello again! I'm afraid I don't know your name." Penny said as she noticed Ruby

"My name is Ruby Rose. But my friends just call me Ruby..." Ruby's response made Penny's eyes glow.

"Friends? Am I your friend?!" Penny asked excitedly.

"Do you want to be my friend?!" Ruby was even more excited

"Yes!!!"

"So now we're friends!" Ruby said 

"Oh my god! I got to tell this to my master! I helped solve a crime and made friends! We see each other around Ruby Rose!!!" Penny said as she ran back to Beacon at a fantastic speed. Making Ruby even more excited.

After that, she caught up with her teammates. Blake and Weiss were still arguing about the White Fang, and they would remain to do so even when they were at their dorms. Even with Ruby and Yang's attempt to split the two.

"Why can't you see you wrong?!" Blake asked furiously

"Why can't you see I'm right?! The Fang hates Humans more than anything in existence! They want us dead, and if possible, they would kill us in the most painful way!"

"How can you be so sure about this?!" Blake's question made Ruby shrink in her bed, all the while making a face that said, "you shouldn't have said that!"

"You really want to know?" Weiss asked bitterly. Finally, she asked Ruby to take off the back part of her dress. Exposing several claws and bite marks on Weiss's back. Yang and Blake were both shocked by it.

"Let's just say these marks don't materialize from thin air..." Weiss said, clearly bitter as she dresses up again. 

"Weiss, I..."

"I was 12! They didn't spare a 12-year-old girl that knew nothing about the things her father was doing! No matter what you say, for me, they are and always will be animals." Weiss said 

"Weiss, I'm sorry. But I guarantee you they don't speak for all of us."

"HOW CAN YOU... Wait, 'Us'?" Blake started to panic. Everyone was looking at her. However, she quickly left the room, ashamed. Yang ran after her. Ruby and Weiss, however, remained in the dorm room. Still digesting the newly discovered fact.

Blake ran as fast as she could, her heart pounding thanks to the speed and the emotions of what just happened. She went straight to the secret exit, and Gilbert was still there.

"Blake, what happened?" he asked 

"Nothing! I'll just go down to Beacon!" Blake said in a desperate tone

"To where? When will you return? I can't just let you down without having any clue as to what's your plan!" 

"Don't worry about it! Just let me go!!!"

"I'll ask again: To Where? To do What? What is your plan for this night, Blake?!" Gilbert demanded

"I DON'T KNOW!!!" Blake screamed before bursting into tears. Gilbert felt very uncomfortable and, for one moment, consider calling Oz. But before he could do it, Yang arrived.

"Yang, what's going on?" he asked

"Something you don't want to get involved in." Yang said, being sober for the first time in front of a still weeping Blake. Noticing that, Yang went to hug her. 

"I'm sorry, I should have told you all!" Blake said, still in tears.

"I wish you had, but we all have our secrets. Don't worry!" Yang said reassuringly. "Now, let's go back to the dorm."

"I can't! You've seen how Weiss is!"

"Then where do you want to go?" Yang asked.

"To Tukson's home." Blake said very quietly.

"Bert, we'll be leaving with no time to return. Don't worry, we'll go to Tucson's house" Yang said.

"Dammit, Yang! If I get fired, I'll never forgive you!" Gilbert said as he gave the girls passage. When they arrived at Tukson's house, it was 10 pm. So, of course, he was already in his pajamas, but the light above his library showed that he still was awake.

"Blake? Yang?!" he asked, shocked

"They found out." Blake said 

"I see... Well, you can stay here for the night." Tukson said in his tender voice. 

His house was relatively simple. It had two rooms, one with a double bed and the other with two single beds. They were divided by the kitchen that only had a table for four, an electric stove, the sink, and the fridge. The kitchen and the living room were divided by the color of the floor. 

The living room itself only had a couch and a TV, with some plants and pictures decorating it. Both rooms had small bathrooms that were almost identical. The sink, toilet, and bathroom box being 7.5 ft apart from each other.

Finally, the stairs led to either the library where Tucson would work as a past time or the entrance. A simple house for a simple man. Precisely what Blake needed for that night. She quickly slept on one of the single beds as Tucson and Yang watched over her.

"What do you know about the White Fang?" Tukson asked Yang

"Only what's in the news."

"Then you know nothing. The White Fang is an organization that aims to give equality to the Faunus. As an organization, we rarely sanction any kind of killing unless it is in self-defense." Tucson explained

"But, every time and again, I see news about the murder of someone by the white fang!" 

"Again, as an organization, the fang rarely sanctions any kind of killing. But inside the organization, a minority of people wish things were like when we ruled the world. Most of us don't agree with them, but we accept them to expand our numbers. Some of us learned to live with them, others didn't..." Tukson said, looking at Blake. 

"That's why she went to Beacon? To hide?" Yang asked

"She went to Beacon to have a second chance. She was under the command of one of those extremists, and as such, she made some nasty stuff. She wants a new life to repay for what she did in the fang."

"Does the Fang allow people to leave that quickly?"

"Of course! We would never kill a brother! Even if the brother is not a part of the fight."

"Why was Swen Glesser killed?" Yang asked

"I don't know. He wasn't a target of anyone, not even extremists!" Tukson said, surprised.

"But the witness said she saw a masked person with a tail leaving the area!" Yang's comment made Tukson worried.

"He's not the first. We're being framed for various crimes happening in the city. I actually took a few days off Beacon to find more about it" Tukson said, unaware that Blake was awake hearing their conversation.

"Ruby, we will be late for class." Weiss said coldly

"You know we're not going." Ruby said. After spending the whole night and morning calling the two missing girls only for her not to be answered, Ruby decided to go find them .

"Speak for yourself. I will go with a weight off of my shoulders, knowing that a threat to my life is no longer here."

"Blake is not a threat!" 

"Are you sure? You heard what she said. She's one of them! If they gave the order, she would probably kill us while we sleep."

"Stop it, Weiss! You know Blake wouldn't do it!"

"All I know is that she hid from us that she was and maybe still is, a member of a dangerous organization! The rest I can deduce... Heck, maybe she was doing missions during the night, and that's why she would sleep during the day!" Weiss said.

"We can ask those things when we find her..." 

"I won't go!"

"If not for her, then for me." Ruby said softly. 

"Ugh! Fine. We should start with Tukson's library. They were friends, after all..."

At first, everything was at peace in Tukson's kitchen for the girl's breakfast. Tucson himself seemed happy, and Yang slept well for the first time in ages, so she was also in a good mood. That changed quickly...

"I want to help find the real criminals." Blake said. Making Tucson's face grow weary 

"I thought you said you don't want anything with this life anymore." He said worriedly

"I also don't want anyone being wrongly accused of anything."

"Look, Blake, don't worry about it! Get back to Beacon, make peace with Weiss and return to this new life you wanted." 

"I realized something yesterday. My new and old life are connected. I can't ignore who I was or what I did. And I can't let my brothers take the fall for something they didn't do it." 

" I see the flames of Ghira are still in you! Yang, can you get to Beacon alone?" Tukson asked

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'll help you guys!"

"Yang, this is not that simple. If you do, you probably attract unwelcoming attention." Blake said in a motherly way

"I've been doing that all of my life! A few more enemies wouldn't change that much. Besides, I would be helping my friend!" Yang said reassuringly.

"Well, so finish your breakfast! We will do a lot of walking..."

When Weiss and Ruby arrived at Tukson's library, he and the girls had already left. That really worried Ruby because that's the only place she knew Blake could be. For one moment, she considers calling them again, but then...

"Salutations, friend!" Penny said joyfully, once more startling Ruby.

"How do you always know where to find me?!" Ruby asked

"Well, I know where my friends are! I finished my morning training, so i was thinking we could lunch together!" Penny said

"Sorry, Penny. I really want to, but I'm busy." Ruby said, depressed

"What happened?"

"I lost a friend."

"Oh my! Sorry for your loss." Penny said, finally dropping her happy attitude

"No, not that kind of loss! You remember Blake?" Ruby asked

"Oh, you mean the Faunus girl!"

"How did you know?" Ruby asked, shocked

"That was pretty obvious to me. It wasn't to you two?"

"Not really..." Ruby said ashamed 

"Well, if you want to find her, then our best bet is to go to the district with the most concentration of Faunus!" Penny deduced.

"And where would that be?" 

"That would be... Wolf's Tears. 3.9 miles from here in a straight line, 4.3 miles using regular traffic. We can arrive there in about an hour!" 

"You're the best Penny!" Ruby said, excited about the prospect of finding Blake. The trio then headed to that location

"So that a cub can have a better tomorrow, that's why I fight today." Tukson whispered in the ear of a figure in a hood guarding a door in an ally.

"Welcome, brother." the figure said as he opened the door. 

Inside, Yang was surprised to find a wealth amount off technology and several Faunus talking. Tucson and Blake were already used to that and, as such, went to speak to the one in charge. 

A half-ant man named Lungile. He was tall and red, had two antennas and four arms. His eyes were standard brown. He had simple dark hair, a pointy nose, and barely any lips at all.

"Brother Tukson, welcome! What makes you leave your assignment?" he asked 

"We want information, Gile. Several crimes are happening around my area, and seeing how yours is in the center of Vale's criminal activity..."

"Very smart! I knew you would come sooner or later. We have a few suspects as to who might be setting us up. But my money is on Roman Torchwick." Lungile said 

"That's the guy my sister fought in order to get a scholarship in Beacon!" Yang said.

"Why him?" Tukson asked.

"Simple. He doesn't stay quiet for long... The most amount of time he spent not getting evolved in anything was three months. But nobody has heard anything about him in five months. He's not dead, or else there would be a war for his turf."

"The dust robberies that we were accused of started five months ago..." Tucson whispered

"You think he's the one?" Blake asked

"I think we might pay him a visit. Where he stays?" 

"He has a warehouse by the docs. Good luck, brother! If something happens, may you become part of Remnant!" Lugile said as the trio left.

"Are you sure this is it?" Weiss asked, uncomfortable as she saw the entrance to Wolf's tear. 

The difference wasn't even subtle. On one side of the street, you had decent buildings with clean enough sidewalks. On the other side, several houses were made of just wood and the walls were really dirt. The sidewalk was flooding with trash emanating a foul stench.

Not even the view was pleasant, as they were just behind Mountain Glenn, Vale's infamous ghost district crawling with Grimm. On the street, several Faunus were wearing clothes that looked like they were never washed. 

"According to statistics by the Vale government, 66.9 % of the Faunus population lives in Wolf's Tears. So there's a good chance for us to find Blake in here!" Penny said, still in her optimistic tone. 

"So what's the plan?" Weiss asked Ruby.

"Split up to cover more ground and ask everyone if they saw Blake. If we don't find anything in two hours, we go back to Beacon." Ruby said. But Weiss wanted to go back to Beacon right at that moment.

At first, she was actually asking about Blake. Still, soon she saw herself just looking at how miserable the life condition of the Faunus indeed was. The words: "The Faunus are already given the same opportunity as the others" echoing in her head.

The moment that broke Weiss came when she met saw a half-eagle girl. She was just walking while singing. She seemed fine. But two things jumped for Weiss. One was how beautiful her voice was, and the other was how poorly dressed she was.

Her body was mostly covered with barely noticeable feathers and some small clothing covering her breaths and waste. Said pieces were in such a bad shape that Weiss wouldn't consider using it even to wipe the floor.

That was enough. Weiss looked for the closest bank and withdrew all the lien she had in one of her cards. After that, she looked for the girl in the street and gave her all the money. 

The girl, at first, was afraid to accept it. But Weiss convinced her to do it and even gave her the address of a well-known store she would go to buy clothes. Finally, the girl accepted the money and went to the store. That whole thing, however, cost her an hour.

"I didn't found anything." Ruby said 

"I found several Faunus. None were your friend!" Penny complemented

"I also found nothing..."

"So let's go back to Beacon. Maybe there we can ask my Uncle for help!" Ruby said, trying to be positive as the girls made their way back to Beacon. On their way, however, they found the half-eagle girl being tossed from the store Weiss said the girl should go.

"This money isn't yours kid! Get out of here!" the manager said, holding some liens in his hand.

"Hey!!!" Weiss screamed

"Miss Schnee. Our favorite client, how can we help you?" the manager said in a sweet tone.

"Why was that girl kicked out of the store?!" Weiss asked furiously.

"She was buying stuff with stolen money. Don't worry, my dear! We already took care of it."

"How can you be so sure it was stolen?!" Weiss asked, even angrier.

"I mean, look at the girl. Look what she's wearing! Look what's her race! She's clearly a thief!" 

"Really?!! Well, either you give that kid, what she asked, or else you lose your golden egg chicken!" 

Weiss said, referring to herself. The man quickly then went back to the store with the girl, and after half an hour, she left with a bag on her arm. She then went to give Weiss the liens she had left.

"That's your money. You can use it to buy whatever you want." Weiss said tenderly.

"If I try to buy anything decent, I'll be kicked out of the store like I was on this one" what shocked Weiss the most was how calm the girl said that like it was part of her everyday life. In the end, Weiss once again convinced the girl to retain the money.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, still processing the situation. 

"That was me being decent. I to start doing it at some point!" Weiss said confident, as she made her way, not to Beacon, but to continue to find Blake so that she could apologize for what she told the previous day.

Ruby, Weiss, and Penny kept looking for Yang and Blake until the evening arrived. They were considering a return to Beacon when they stumbled with team JNPR.

"Ruby, Weiss and... Penny?!" Pyrrha asked, surprised 

"Salutations, master! Sorry that I missed the afternoon training. I was busy helping my friend Ruby!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Weiss asked

"Tasks for the festival. What are YOU doing here? Where's Yang and Blake?" Jaune asked

"We're looking for them. It's a long story, and all that matters is that we need to find them!" Ruby said 

"Where have you looked?" Jaune asked

"Almost every inch of the city! But we can't find them... We will sleep and continue searching tomorrow." Ruby responded.

"That might not be necessary!" Nora said, smiling, looking at a coffee shop. Ren also looked at it, but he had "oh no" written all over his face. Finally, they gave Nora the drink with the highest caffeine levels. After drinking it, she just disappeared into a wind of tremendous speed after that.

She took 5 minutes before locating Blake and Yang, spying on Roman's warehouse with Tucson. Nora could also see Roman talking to several "Faunus" working for him. Nobody saw her thanks to the high speed. After that, Nora quickly went back.

"THEYREEATVALESDOCSWITHTUKSONSPYINGAGINGERCRIMINALTHROUWINGSACOSTUMEPARTYWHEREEVERYONEWASDRESSEDASFAUNUS!!"- Nora said loud and fast. It took some time before she calmed down and explained what she saw.

"Ginger criminal... Was he wearing a white tuxedo and a fedora?" Ruby asked.

"Yes!!!" Nora said, still loud but not as fast anymore.

"Roman Torchwick. They're after him! Oh no..." Ruby said worriedly

"Who is that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Roman Torchwick. 41 years old. One of Vale's most prolific criminals. Not linked to any crime for the past five months!" Penny said joyfully.

"The perks of a know it all friend..." Pyrrha commented.

"Was there a girl with half her hair purple or even pink and the other half brown?" Ruby asked

"She was right beside him!!!"

"Then we need to go. The girls can be in trouble!" Ruby said 

"Show the way, Nora!" Jaune exclaimed.

"Show the way to where?" Cinder said, startling everyone.

"Professor Fall, we... we..." Ruby said awkwardly

"You're going after a dangerous criminal all by yourself." For one moment, Ruby feared that it was all over. "Just like a huntsman would do! Go for it, but be quick! Oz will notice if two freshman teams and a Beacon guest disappeared for very long." Cinder complement "joyfully."

"Thank you, professor Fall! Let's go, everybody!" Ruby said as the group made its way towards Vale's docs. Once they were far, Cinder called Roman.

"Roman, two students and a teacher are spying on you, with several more on the way."

"How many are coming, my autumn flower?" Roman asked sarcastically.

"Seven. With Ruby Rose among them. If you killed her, I would be very pleased."

"Pleasing you is the last thing on my to-do list, but getting rid of that pest is really high up there! ❤ I'll do my best ❤!" Roman said, starting to form a plan. Outside, Yang, Blake, and Tucson were hidden on a rooftop next to the warehouse for about an hour.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Yang asked 

"Gile's informations are rarely wrong. If we wait, we might... There he is! - Tucson said as Roman opened the door of the warehouse. Showing to the three his disguised thugs with him in the middle smoking a cigarette.

"Yesterday was the last boys?" Roman asked, almost screaming.

"Yes, sir..." the thugs responded, confused.

"It's him!" Blake snarled, making a slight move. Just enough for a hidden Neo to noticed them and text Roman: "On the roof, two girls and a Faunus. One girl is getting angry, tease her using the white fang."

"Men, was it easy to fool everyone with those murders! After all, the White Fang is a bunch of worthless animals!!!" Roman said proudly. Provoking anger in Blake and suspicion in Tukson.

"I mean, they killed us in the past! So everyone will believe these savages are doing it again now!" Blake was getting angrier and angrier. 

"Blake, calm down! Something is not right..." Tukson said 

"You bet it isn't!!!" Blake responded, barely containing her anger

"After all... they are a bunch of... FUCKING PEST!" Those words finally tipped Blake to the edge. She quickly made Roman her hostage by holding gambol shroud in his neck.

"NOBODY MOVES OR ELSE..." before she could end the sentence, Roman stabbed her in the thigh with a knife that generates an electric pulse. Making her scream in pain and letting Roman go.

"Blake!!!" Yang screamed as she jumped to punch Roman, but he easily dodged it and Tukson's attack after that.

"Well, call me a fisherman! I just got several fishes with just one bait!" Roman said, circulating around the three 

"He knew about us! He said those things to anger us!" Tukson said, making Blake feel ashamed.

"Why are you framing the White Fang?!" Yang asked

"Oh, great for you to ask piss hair! Sadly I can't tell because it's none of your business!" Roman said before shooting the three. 

They easily dodged the bullets. But soon, they were overwhelmed by the thugs. Soon they were pinned and ready to be beaten to death. All hope seemed lost until a heavy wind blew several thugs away.

"Get away from my friends!" Weiss screamed angrily, pointing Myrtenaster in the direction of the fight. Making everyone notice the new group of people that arrived. The only one not seen was Penny. Standing above the battleground to give everyone information.

Seizing the moment, Yang, Blake, and Tukson ran back to the group. However, Neo also came out of hiding, bringing several more thugs with her. Things got even worse when all of the thugs stunned by Weiss's attack went back into action.

"Who Vs. Who?" Yang asked.

"I'll need help to finish my business with her." Ruby responded, looking at Neo.

"I'll help you, Sis!"

"That bastard will pay for the things he did!" Blake said

"I think you may need some ice to cold the hot rage inside you!" Weiss said 

"I'll deal with the reinforcements!" Tukson said

"We can take the disguised ones!" Jaune said 

"So let's do our job..." Ruby said, confident as she activated Petal Burst to go after Neo on the warehouse's roofs, Yang went after using Burn. 

Weiss used ice dust to create a skating place so that she and Blake could go to Roman faster. Tkcson jumped to fight Roman's reinforcements, and team JNPR remained still waiting for the disguised ones to come.

As soon as the reinforcements arrived, Nora hit using Magnhild at full force. However, they barely moved. The leader of the reinforcements group then started to smile, noticing the confusion.

"You fools! Those aren't just simple fantasies!" he said. Making everyone realize that the White Fang Costumes doubled as body armor. That made the battle far harder.

Ten minutes went by and team JNPR had barely knocked out anyone, and their Aura was running low. Noticing that, Jaune prepared for a desperate move...

He activated his semblance to drain the reinforcement's Aura until there was almost none of it. Barely holding it inside and screaming in pain while doing it. Finally, he passed an equal amount of that Aura to both Pyrrha and Nora. The two girls then procedeed to wipe the floor with the reinforcements. 

Only five disguised thugs were able to fight that. It seemed like the fight was over, but they didn't count with Jaune falling to the floor with his nose bleeding. The girls also fell to the floor after liberating all that Aura. 

When it seemed like team JNPR was about to lose, Ren shot the five remaining thugs. Although not defeated, they lost a lot of their Aura thanks to Pyrrha and Nora's attacks, so the bullets were able to finally end the fight.

Calling Tukson's fight against the reinforcements a "fight" would be a reach. As he used his semblance to become larger and stronger to pretty much destroy all of them. That was especially easy, considering they weren't using any armor. But the big numbers made the fight last longer than he wanted.

Neo proved to be just as fast as Yang and Ruby. Ruby tried hitting her with several different series of slices, but Neo dodged it all. She even found an opening to stab Ruby with her umbrella, but as the blade was making its way towards her, Yang stopped it by holding the edge.

At first, it seems idiotic for Yang to do what she did. Still, that extra damage allows her to amplify Burn, meaning Yang could punch Neo a lot harder, which she tried to do. Neo, however, ducked just at the right time and followed it up by kicking Yang's legs, making her fall.

Ruby, noticing that her sister was in trouble, did a vertical slice on Neo, but she dodged once more. However, this time Ruby knew she would escape, so while Neo was moving, Ruby used Petal Burst to materialize in front of Neo, with no way for the mute girl to dodge the next attack.

Neo had to act fast to stop Ruby's it. In the end, she opened her umbrella and used it as a shield. She didn't have any time to breathe, though. Because Yang came punching Neo in the back with all her force. Breaking Neo's Aura.

Noticing the disadvantage she was at, Neo hatched a plan. When Yang went to punch her again, Neo dodged at just the right time. So, in the end, Yang missed Neo but hit Ruby. That made the red one fly in the air and land on another roof.

"Ruby!!!" Yang yelled as she went to check on her sister. Giving Neo plenty of time for her to disappear into the docs...

Blake and Weiss's speed took Roman off guard, and he immediately got kicked in the face by Blake, making him fly in the air. Before he could hit the floor, Weiss hit him with more wind dust, making him fly even higher before colliding in some crates that contained Combustion Dust.

After that initial barrage of attacks, Roman threw some of the Crates in the two girls' direction, followed by shooting it. Resulting in an explosion that launched Weiss inside the Warehouse and Blake to the water

Blake managed to escape the water by swinging back to land using Gambol Shroud's ribbon. She landed above the warehouse, where she could hear the fight between Weiss and Roman inside.

Weiss's blade was set on fire thanks to Fire Dust, and she was relentlessly attacking Roman with it. That set the warehouse on fire, but not enough to affect Blake on the rooftop. After relentlessly attacking Roman, Weiss lost her breath, and he seized the opportunity to talk to her

"Why are you friends with that Emo?" Roman asked, referring to Blake. At first, Weiss was quiet.

"I know what they did to you, princess. After all of that will you befriend one of them?!" Roman's question made Blake feel uncomfortable. Afraid that Weiss may turn on her.

"I will never forgive any of them!" Weiss said with her eyes filled with rage. Sinking Blake's heart into sadness a moment and filling Roman with pride and joy, that's until...

"But Blake isn't one of them! I've been with her for the past few months, and the Blake I know doesn't like attention and has sleeping problems. But above all, she cares about the other, Faunus or otherwise! That's why I'm proud to say she's my friend!" Weiss said confidently, preparing for another attack while Blake's sadness turned into happiness.

"And when you harm my friends, you pay for it!!!" Weiss said, freezing Roman in place before following it up with consecutive attacks, making him fly off the warehouse. And before he could hit the ground, Blake tied him up using Gambol Shroud and delivered a punch in his face. Breaking his Aura. 

Roman was now alone and defeated, but he still had one last card on his sleeve. With the push of a button in his Scroll, several aircraft went up in the air. For one moment, the hearts of everyone stopped in fear.

"Good night! Hunts... OH FUCK!!!" Roman screamed as he noticed a bean destroying one of the ships. Turning the attention of the rest towards Penny on the roof. They fired several rounds on the girl, but she dodged it with ease. 

The First Airship was destroyed when Penny unleashed swords from her backpack to cut in half while jumping in the air to get to the battleground. Resulting in it exploding in the air. The second one was destroyed by killing the pilot, stabbing him.

Before landing, Penny would destroy a third ship by firing a bean right under its engine. In theory, the explosion would harm her, but she soon emerged from the smoke untouched. 

The last ship tried to escape, but it was literally brought to the ground after Penny hooked her blades on it and pulled it down of the air. This show would, however, prove quite useful to Roman. While everyone was distracted by it, he left. 

The cops arrived soon after the end of the fight. All surviving members of Roman's gang were arrested by the Police Man in charge of gang violence. While doing so, he received a message. "You, I and big sums of Lien know those men were Faunus." The detective replied with "Was that ever in doubt, Roman?"

"Will he get better?" Pyrrha asked a paramedic referring to Jaune still unconscious on the Ambulance's stretcher

"Yes. In fact, he will be sent back to his dorms. He'll probably have a headache when he wakes, though, so watch out for that" the paramedic responded while taking Jaune back to Beacon.

After the fight, each member of team RWBY went to give their testimony of the events. So it took some time before four girls could be together alone so they could talk. 

"Blake, I'm sorry. I was an ignorant jerk! But now I don't care if you were, are, or will be a member of the White Fang! All I care about is if you forgive me!" Weiss said

"Only if you forgive me for not telling you my secret." Blake said before hugging her.

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!!!" Ruby said, joining in with Yang. The celebrations were cut short by the arrival of Ozpin.

"You four skipped class, put yourself and other teams in danger, and provoked a fire in Vale's docs!" Ozpin retorted.

"I see no better punishment than to... suspend you all for a week!" Ozpin's words confused Team RWBY

"But sir, we only have one week of class remaining before our mid-year vacation." Ruby pointed out, to which Ozpin replied with a wink...

"Wait, where's Penny?" Ruby asked, wanting to ask her about the ships. Penny was in a car, talking to the driver.

"But sir..."

"Penny, it's for the best. The general told you what would happen. You'll quietly return to Beacon..."

"FUCK! CRAP! SHIT! CUNT!" Roman said as Neo patched him. 

"I don't throw this tantrum when I'm patching myself up!" Neo said using hand signs.

"Oh, shut up! That's only because you don't have a voiCE! OH FUCKING GOD!!!"

"Something happened, Torchwick?" a deep male voice asked

"Yes. My men and I were attacked! We've only known each other personally for a few hours, and they already target me!!!" Roman said, playing the fool.

"So, things are bad here in Vale! I'll mobilize my forces during the mid-year academy vacation. Soon we will purify Vale!!!"


End file.
